Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles
by darkmist111
Summary: Brought together by the International Selection Naruto, Fu, and Gaara carve their own path into the world under the Guidance of Killer Bee. Watch out world here comes Team Jinchuuriki!
1. Cast the Die! The Internation Selection!

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Authors Note: ****Okay so this is basically the first chapter of Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles recreated by me. I hope Zero the Leech sees this and I get her approval. Now this will not be word for word in fact it will be a complete recreation mostly because I don't have an original copy of the story since Zero the Leech took it down. I hope I get some reviews also for those of you that read the original story I have a favor to ask of you. For those of you that have read Jinchuuriki Chronicles I ask that you not only review the chapter but make a summary of the next chapter with as much details as possible in case I forgot to include anything. Thank you and feel free to flame all criticism is welcome.**

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**Episode 1: ****Cast the Die! ****The International Selection Begins!**

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Naruto Uzamaki felt like he was on top of the world. Today was his first day of being a ninja. He was currently grinning like an idiot sitting down at a desk wearing his orange jump suit with the Uzamaki symbol on his back and blue sandals on his feet.

Shikamaru Nara walked down the stairs of the classroom with a half asleep look on his face until his saw Naruto. "Naruto what are you doing? Drop outs can't be here, orientation is for graduates only."

Still smiling Naruto turned his head and laughed. "Take a look at the forehead genius I'm a fully fledged ninja now, believe it!"

If Naruto wasn't so busy gloating he would have noticed a certain Hyuuga heiress staring longingly at him. _'So Naruto graduated too, I'm glad.' _A small but noticeable blush dusted her cheeks in a timid but alluring fashion.

Suddenly two pairs of thundering foot steps came rushing towards the door of the classroom before it slammed open revealing two young girls. The girls were panting heavily as if they had just run through the entire village. Glaring but still panting the girl known as Ino laughed. "I win again Sakura"

"Ha you wish my toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead of yours!"

They continued to bicker endlessly while the rest of the class continued with their previous activities already used to the pair's animosity. Naruto however was entranced by the pink haired kounichi. _'Sakura-chan is so pretty I hope I end up on a team with her.' _Sakura suddenly stopped butting heads with Ino and looked over in Naruto's direction before her face lit up with a dazzling smile. _'She's smiling at me.' _

Sakura trotted over to Naruto's desk. "Hello"

"Hey Sakura how's it goi-"

"Move it loser!" Naruto was promptly knocked over on to the ground as soon as he was within reach of the fiery Haruno. "Hey Sasuke-kun, do you mind if I sit here?"

"Hey back off forehead I was here first!" Ino said venom dripping from her voice.

"Well I was here before any of you!" Another girl joined the argument

"No I deserve to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"No way, I do"

"No me" The argument dissolved into non-discernable yelling while the subject of said argument continued to sit with elbows resting on the table.

_'Damn it their arguing about Sasuke again what's so damn special about that teme anyway!_ Having enough Naruto jumped up and hoped onto his desk glaring daggers into Sasuke's closed eyes.

Acknowledging his prescence Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. "You want something dobe?" Sasuke's dull eyes then became intense glaring back at Naruto with equal ferocity.

The two became so engaged in their battle of wills that they didn't notice the growing bloodlust directed at Naruto. "Naruto you idiot what are you doing to Sasuke-kun!"

"If you touch one hair on his head I'll kill you!"

"C'mon Sasuke-kun kick his ass!" The fans of the last Uchiha screamed for retribution at this outrageous offence against the subject of their affection.

"Hey this is great right?" A male ninja said turning to face his friend who sat next to him unknowingly elbowing Naruto's rear end pushing him forward unknowingly condemning Naruto to more pain than he has ever felt before in his life. "Hey sorry about tha- huh?

Naruto had unfortunately been pushed forward so that his lips slammed against his rival's.

Sakura was devastated her eyes going wide in anguish._ 'No I was supposed to Sasuke-kun's first kiss!'_

_**'Cha that idiot Naruto I'll kill him cha.'**_

Once his brain registered what had happened he pulled himself backwards witg all the force he could muster falling down from the desk. "BLAAAGH MY MOUTH IS INFECTED!"

Sasuke himself was whizzing in disgust. "AHH! Naruto I'm gonna kill you!

Naruto halted his complaining when his sensed a mass amount of killing intent coming from behind him. Slowly he turned his head and saw a dark purple aura surrounding the suitors of his unwanted first kiss and they glared at him much as a spider would glare at a fly caught in it's web. "NARUTO"

"I-it was an accident Sakura-chan"

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

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**Meanwhile**

A young kunoichi walked through the konoha's gates along with a older brown haired jonin with a bowl cut and a horizontal scar running across his for head. The sun shone off the female ninja, her mint green hair and tan coppery skin as she adjusted the red straps crossed over her chest attached to a red container with unknown contents. Her white tank top and skirt were worn over a fishnet mesh undershirt and leggings; she had two arm warmers on her forearms and tied just above her right arm warmer was her head band with the emblem of Takigakure a symbol that she was a shinobi of the village hidden in the waterfall. "This place is huge! How are we ever going find the academy in time?"

The older jonin frowned in disgust. "Quite complaining brat, just keep quite and follow me." The Jonin walked forward not noticing his fellow traveler stick her tongue out at him.

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**Meanwhile… again**

Two Sunagakure shinobi walked the through the hall of the leaf ninja academy, their foot steps echoing off the walls somehow sounding foreboding like a shark slowly circling around it's prey. The older ninja wore standard Suna jonin clothes; his most distinguishing feature was the, fact that his entire head was wrapped in cloth save for the left side of his face. His younger companion was some how even stranger in appearance despite his short stature. His shirt and pants was ordinary enough, a short sleeve black shirt over a mesh undershirt, while his ankles were wrapped in bandages over a pair of open toes sandals. A white cloth wrapped diagonally around his chest criss crossing with the strap which held both his Suna headband and a large unique looking gourd on his back. He looked forward with his soulless pale green eyes rimmed black not too different from a raccoon and hair red as blood. The older nin kept a noticeable gape in between the two of them as if afraid of the younger shinobi.

"Gaara I hope you understand how important this program is."

"…." Gaara remained silent not even turning his head to acknowledge the sand jonin.

"It's very impotant that you don't have one of your episodes, you father the kazeka-"

"Baki" Gaara's cold tone cut Baki off like a hot knife through butter. "Be quite or I'll kill you." Baki immediately shut up due to his sense of self preservation.

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**Meanwhile, last time I swear**

"Congratulations as of today you are officially ninja but the road only gets tougher from here on out. You've come a long way but in order to move forward you need to take a more individual approach to your training as such we will be assigning all of you into groups of four, three genin and one jonin." Iruka picked up his clip board and started listing off the teams.

_'I wonder what team I'll be on. Anyone's fine as long as it's not Sasuke.' _Naruto thought idly.

_'I hope I get on Sasuke-kun's team' _

_**'Cha I'd better get on Sasuke's team or there'll be hell to pay Cha' **_Sakura thought both lovingly and angrily.

Naruto perked up when he heard a familiar name.

"Team Seven, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Abare"

Hinata suddenly looked downtrodden. _'So Naruto and I will be separated.'_ The thought made her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Ino was chanting to herself as if asking the gods for help. "Sasuke's team, Sasuke's team, Sasuke's team, Sasuke's team…!"

Irritated by the Uchiha fanatic's muttering Shikamaru spoke up. "What's so great about him anyway, he's not so special."

Ino glared at the Nara but spoke in a disbelieving tone. "How you can say that, can't you tell anything?"

"No because _I'm_ not a girl."

Ino scoffed "You are so naïve, jealousy is an ugly thing I'd hate to be on your team."

Just then Iruka stated the next team. "Team Eight, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara-"

"What?!"

"What was that you said about hating to be on my team?" The lazy shinobi said with a smug grin.

"-and Chōji Akimichi." Iruka said finishing listing the team.

'_Ugh not food boy too!'_ Ino thought in agony.

While Ino stewed in the fact that she was going to spend her entire genin career with the two laziest students in the academy. Iruka continued to list of the teams until only Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke once all the other students were assigned their teams. "Alright, now that you have been assigned your teams, you are to gather in your given room numbers to meet your jonin instructor, that is all for today."

"Excuse me, Iruka-sensei you forgot me and Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah! Me too." Naruto yelled not wanting to be forgotten.

"I was getting to that." Iruka grumbled feeling a head ache coming on. "Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzamaki please follow me to classroom 8-C." Iruka waited for the three of them to get up to follow before walking out the door. Though they asked none a silent question hung in the air. _'What is going on?' _When they finally reached the door the three students curiosities were all but bursting at the seams. When Iruka opened the door the scene on the other side was anything but what they predicted. Grouped together at the desks and on the floors were shinobi, but not you're regular run of the mill leaf shinobi. These shinobi all were the same age as them and wore assortments of garbs and gear all in different colors and styles along with having exotic skin tones and a fruit basket of hair colors. Naruto and Sakura stared at them trying to understand the situation they were in, until Sasuke spoke up.

"They're all from different villages." Naruto and Sakura looked at Sasuke a moment before reexamining the shinobi again taking note of the various head bands signifying their village of allegiance. Before either Naruto or Sakura could question their sensei about this, his voice cut them off.

"Alright you three go and mingle, me and the other instructors will arrive shortly."

"But Iruka-sensei-" Sakura tried to say in protest before realizing she was addressing a cloud of smoke. Not knowing what else to do the three walked to the group of chattering teenagers. Sasuke immediately found a pillar to lean against his arms crossed in a signature cool guy pose and had already amassed a small group of new fan girls staring longingly at him while Sakura ground her teeth at the thought of new love rivals.

'_Geez'_ Thought a mint haired shinobi. _'That guy is trying way too hard to look cool.' _However a certain knuckle headed ninja could not resist the chance to steal everyone's attention. Jumping up on the desk he shouted.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" All head snapped to Naruto giving him the undivided attention. "My name is Naruto Uzamaki and I'm not going to lose to any of you!" Various reactions appeared throughout the rooms some of disbelief some of shock but mostly one's of annoyance.

'_**NARUTO YOU BAKA!' **_Sakura screamed in her head.

'_That dobe…'_ Sasuke thought sighing in irritation.

'_Agh so loud! I hope I'm not on his team.'_ A Taki Jinchuuriki thought.

'_He's not even worth killing.'_ The red haired Suna nin closed his eyes waiting for the idiot's inevitable death.

'_He's either extremely strong or a complete moron.' _Thought a young man clutching a black sword. _'Probably both.'_

'_Did he say Uzamaki?'_ The young kunoichi tucked a strand of red hair behind her glasses.

The door to the room opened and walked in a group of older Shinobi also from various Villages. Most wore their village's standard uniform however some wore very unique clothing like the dark skinned Kumo nin in the back. In the center of the various jonin was a young man clad in the Hokages formal garbs was the son of the white fang, copy nin, and if the rumors were true the boyfriend of the infamous masochistic snake master Anko Mitarashi, Kakashi Hatake the fifth Hokage. Immediately Naruto was forgotten and all eyes were on the masked Kage even Naruto got down and focused.

"All right I know you all probably have a lot of question but before that I have one thing to say." Though is seemed formal enough the Hokage said it in such a bored town that the genin had a hard time taking him seriously. However what he said next grabbed their attention.

"Welcome to the International Selection."

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**Next time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

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"What exactly is the International Selection?"

"I'M A GIRL YOU TEME!"

"It does matter what team I'm on as long as they don't get in my way."

"I am Gaara of the desert."

**Next time The Meeting of the Jinchuuriki, The Real Test Has Only Begun!**

"I'm going to be Hokage believe it!"

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**Closing Author's Note's: Thanks for Reading the first chapter of my recreation of Zero the Leech's story. Please feel free to criticize and complain but please don't be too hard on me. And if Zero the Leech is reading this please email me to tell me if it's okay or not. Also if anyone has read Zero the Leech's story please leave a description of the next chapter in a review or message.**


	2. The Meeting of the Jinchuuriki

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: First off I would like to give a hearty thanks to Naruto Sakura Uzamaki who provided me the material which made this chapter much easier to write than the last. I would also like to thank all of you who read and subscribed last chapter. Once I finish the recreating all the chapters up to the point where Zero the Leech stopped making chapters please feel free to make suggestions on which direction the story should take.**

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**Episode 2: ****The Meeting of the Jinchuuriki! The Real Test Has Only Begun!**

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Kakashi Hatake, the Fifth Hokage and legendary Copy-Nin, casually observed the training hall his single visible eye slowly shifting to observe its attendants. He took a quick head count of the young gathered genin who until a week ago were just trainees. In total there were shinobi from nine different villages, fourteen students from Kumo, ten from Iwa, eight from Kiri and Kusagakure , the Hidden Grass Village – six from Amegakure – the Hidden Rain Village – four from Konoha, two from Suna, and only one from Taki, the Hidden Waterfall Village, and Hoshi, the Hidden Star Village. Overall it was a much bigger turn out than anticipated. When Kakashi first heard of the Fouth Mizukage's plan to reignite his sensei's plan, he was all for it but he never imagined that he would be able to pull it off. '_I guess I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch_'_._The job of gathering the shinobi was over but making sure ninja from different villages were able to work together and more importantly risk their lives for each other was a completely different story. Despite the odds he felt confident that this program would work. The one eyed sharingan wielder let out a silent yawn hidden by his mask. True he was confident but that did not equal interest in the boring parts. The masked shinobi stood in front of the Jonin, who like the Genin represented their own individual villages and nations stood proud and poised. Kakashi gave a small shake of his head in disappointment and sighed. Why was he the one giving the new students the orientation? The Mizukage's the one who single handedly suggested, restarted, and organized this year's international selection. He looked of the a certain crimson haired Genin who emitted such an aura of intimidation that the rest of the teens unconsciously keep a couple feet away from him at all time. '_Gaara of the desert_' Kakashi thought feeling his right eye focus from behind his forehead protector. '_He might be one of the main reasons why the Mizukage wanted to have the International selection, but I doubt getting him to work with a team will be as easy as he made it seem. Despite the similarities they all shared._' He shifted his vision to the amber eyed Kunoichi from Taki. '_And Fu Nagare_' Kakashi felt his mouth twitch upwards when he saw her smiling. '_Despite probably having a harder time than either Naruto or Gaara I can tell she turned out pretty good, maybe even as good as Naruto._' He could understand why the Mizukage wanted this team so bad. But still for right now the copy-nin only wanted to jump into bed and curl up with the lastest edition of Icha Icha paradise and one Anko Mitarashi. Of course he would have to wait until she was asleep to read or else she would start doing that thing with her leg…

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage?" Kakashi was broken out of his thoughts, and glanced to his side to see Iruka who had obviously guessed what the young Fire Shadow was thinking. "I don't mean to rush you sir, but could we please move on with the orientation of the genin. I'm sure that you're… duties can wait until you're done here."

"Right, right." The Hokage waved the young Ninja off nonchalantly, focusing on the young audience in front of him ignoring the analyzing eyes of some of the Kumo and Suna-nin who were privy to his reputation. "As I was saying before, I would like to be the first one to welcome to the second year of the International Selection. But before we start, would anyone like to get their questions out in the open." Much to the white haired Hokage's surprise, quite a number of hands shot into the air. "Alright… Pinky, from Konoha."

I'm Sakura Haruno, sir." Sakura said respectfully, but still pouting at the unflattering and unoriginal nickname. "I was, um, wondering what the Internation Selection is exactly?"

All other hands instantly dropped, they all apparently had only one question that needed to be answered. The Hokage couldn't say he was surprised they weren't given much information other than the brief welcome he just gave. It was uncommon that a foreign shinobi enter the ninja village unless given permission the village's leader or Damiyo. But to have ninja from Kumo, Konoha, and Iwa, three of the biggest feuding factions since the founding of the Ninja Villages, well let's just saw this was a little beyond unusual. The Fire Shadow cast a glance to Iruka, silent asking him to take the lead on this one. Iruka nodded his face going into teacher mode. He stood back and let the scared Chunin take the floor.

"Excellent question, Sakura." At Iruka's praise, a small smile graced he lips. "As many of you have probably figured out the International Selection is a form of pact among the nine major ninja villages: Konoha, Kiri, Suna, Iwa, Kumo, Ame, Kusa, Taki, and the recently upcoming Hoshigakure. The International Selection was first proposed at the conclusion of the Third Shinobi World War , as the fouth Hokage's first act as leader of the village he proposed a plan that would hopefully prevent further bloodshed.

"The Fourth Hokage…" Naruto stared his interest piqued.

He wasn't the only one. Everyone from Iwa to Kumo had heard of the Fourth Hokage, revered as Konoha's Yellow Flash and the greatest of all Hokage. Whenever his name was spoken in foreign lands, it was whispered in fear and envy. Naruto knew this because the Fourth Hokage was his role model; it was the only subject he actually paid attention to in the Academy. Although there was some resentment in knowing that the greatest man in Konoha's history had sealed the Kyuubi within him. If Naruto ever had the chance, he would punch the Fourth Hokage in the gut for leaving him with this curse. But then again, the Kyuubi was attacking the village at the time and he willing sacrificed his own life to save them. If he were ever in a similar situation, Naruto would, grudgingly, admit that he would have done the same. But while Naruto wandered around his thoughts, Kakashi was staring at him intently from his place.

'_The resemblance is almost uncanny._' Kakashi thought starting to feel a little nostalgic. '_Although from the reports I it seems he took after Kushina. I can tell he's grown up in an interesting way._'

"Settle down, settle down." Iruka called over the commotion that was caused by the mention of the Fourth Hokage. "Back to the topic at hand, the Fourth Hokage proposed a agree with the other Village leaders. His plan was to create teams from different nations in order to strengthen the bonds that the warring nations had lost during the Third Shinobi World War."

"I can't imagine that went well with Jiji-the old man." The Iwa Kunoichi snickered.

"Yes the Third Tsuchikage was against it at first." Iruka sighed, rubbing his chin wearily. "But the Fourth Hokage was charismatic and persuasive and with the help of the Fourth Raikage managed a temporary term of agreement. For security reasons, the Five Great Nations only allowed Genin teams of three from different nations to work together under a Jonin Instructor."

The aforementioned Taki Kunoichi suddenly raised her hand unknowingly smacking a Kiri Genin in the face. "Or is a special rules applied to us or something?"

"Each member still represents their own villages." Iruka explained. "Each teams is allowed access to each village and is allowed to accept any missions given to them by the village heads. Also while each team will be moving from village to village, every two teams will be assigned a village of residency. This village is where you will be staying for training and free time in between missions. After you are given your teams you will spend a week in Konoha before departing for your respective villages. Your personal Items have been relocated to your private apartments in each village. Everyone has a limited immunity in foreign nations, but each village is given permission to allow or deny anyone outside their village. Any punishments handed down in foreign nations are agreed about by that nation's leader and the representative. But there are…some cases…where that's not an option."

"Infiltration…" Everyone's gaze locked on the redheaded Suna-nin, who pointedly ignored their stares. "The possibility of rivaling countries given entrance beyond the borders provides opportunity for foreign nations to take a village's most prizes secrets. Jutsu, weapons, and battle strategies that were once withheld to one nation are open for other nations to take. Also relations with other nations could allow attempted strengthening bonds through marital relations giving other villages access to previously unavailable family techniques and Kekkei Genkai. The Five Great Nations are very protective of their secrets."

'_So the reports were right…_' Kakashi thought. "The Fourth Kazekage really did turn his youngest son into Suna's ultimate weapon." He glance at the unknowing Uzumaki Heir from the corner of his eye, who looked like he was analyzing he fellow demon container. '_I can only imagine what's going through his head._'

'_Bah! Who does this guy think he is anyway, acting all cool._' Naruto sulked. '_I bet that gourd is just for show anyway._'

"Ok, I can't be the only one that notices it." The Taki girl thought with a serious expression. "He's got no eyebrows. Creepy…"

"Hmm…" The white-haired genin hummed.

"Yes, that is true."Iruka nodded with hesitantly to the young sand weilder. "Some nations use this as an opportunity to obtain information about and jutsu from rivaling nations, Konoha included. But the village leaders at that time attempted, to resolve most of the issues. The program did serve the purpose of strengthening individual skills and helped build relations with other nations. However, the program was discontinued shortly following the Fourth Hokage's…passing."

The older ninja bowed their heads in respect for the dead and a good number of Genin followed their example. The moment passed and Kakashi strood forward to stand by Iruka, effortlessly caturing their attention.

"We realized that the timing was poor when we first began the International Selection." Kakashi admitted. "Nations were still recovering from the Third Shinobi World War, and were left in a weak and vulnerable. But now the villages are running strong, we felt it was time to start the trail again after last year. Many of the previous teams have made significant leaps and bound in not only their training and the relations between the villages some teams even went on to performs missions much above the usual skill grade. After such a successful trail, the village leaders have agreed to continue again this year. So before you are all divided into your teams, I speak for all the villages heads when I say I have confidence that you will be the best and brightest we have to offer. Thank you."

Everyone in the training hall clapped after the Hokage's speech, with the exception of Sasuke and Gaara. Naruto then decided to now and forever more give people like Gaara and Sasuke Membership to the 'Didn't give a damn about anyone club'.

"Be patient and listen for your name as I assign you you're teams, Jonin instructor, and villages." Iruka said clipboard in hand.

The process was pretty much exactly the same a regular team assignment with the exception that we were given the name of our Jonin instructor as well. Naruto gazed upon the favorite sensei with a relaxed pose, listening for his name to be called. Twenty minutes and twelve teams later Naruto was starting to feel antsy. Finally a name Naruto recognized reached the ears of the young Uzamaki.

"Next team: Sakura of Konoha, Kurotsuchi of Iwa, and Hokuto of Hoshi." Iruka announced. "Your Jonin instructor will be Pakura of Suna. Your team will be stationed in Kirigakure"

'_DAMN!_' Sakura yelled in her head.

'**_CHA! WHOEVERS IN CHARGE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT BULLSHIT IS GOING TO HAVE THEIR THROAT RIPPED OUT! CHA!_**' Sakura's inner ego wailed predictably.

'_So this is my new team I guess._' The Hoshi Kunoichi, Hokuto, thought nervously. '_Why do a have a horrible sense of foreboding._'

"Damn it the fan girl _and_ the wimp, what rotten luck." The pink-eyed Kunoichi known as Kurotsuchi grumbled. "I can't believe gramps forced me to participate in this goddamn freak show when I get back I shoving my foot so far up his ass that it'll come out his mouth… actually that wouldn't be that far."

"Next team: Sasuke of Konoha, Karin of Kusa, and Kisei of Konoha." Iruka continued. "Your Jonin instructor is Rin of Konoha, you will be stationed in Kohonagakure."

'_Karin and Kisei huh_?' Sasuke scowled at the thought. '_They better not be a burden or else._'

'_Yes! Sasuke's not on my team, thing are looking up!_' Naruto thought a happy grin on his face.

'_Rin really surprised me. After she came back to the village I thought she would want to lay low for a while._' Kakashi thought stealing a glance at his former teammate. She caught him and sent a motherly and kind smile back at him. '_I never expected her to volunteer to be an instructor, perhaps this will help her finally move on._'

With fourteen teams out of the way, the orientation meeting was drawing to a close and Naruto still hadn't been called. At this point, he was almost worried that Iruka-Sensei had made a mistake and he wasn't going on any team. But he knew Iruka better than that; the scarred chunin would never let such a thing happen to his favorite student. Iruka had finished assigning the seventeenth team and was moving to the last set of names. The chunin instructor's eyes went wide and the three names selected and who they were assigned to. Naruto's name was the first on the list followed by two he didn't recognize. It was the name of their Jonin instructor that caught his attention. He had heard about this man when he was a little kid during the Third Shinobi World War and he had built a strong and unusual reputation. Iruka looked warily to the Hokage, who only urged him to continue. Iruka cleared his throat before calling out to the remaining genin.

"This is the final team: Naruto of Konoha, Gaara of Suna, and Fu of Taki. You Jonin sensei will be Killer Bee of Kumo, you will be stationed in Konohagakure.

"All right!" Naruto screamed loudly, sending a few people scattering and a few more to cover their ears. "Finally, now we get to see some actions! I'M gonna get to show you all how incredibly awesome I really am!"

"He's an idiot…not even worth killing." The blood thirsty Gaara mumbled completely uninterested.

"Aw man, I got the loudmouth _and _the eyebrow-less weirdo?" The copper toned Fu whined. "Ugh, Kami-sama must hate me."

"All right, now that's out of the way." Kakashi said with a one-eyed smile. "While the Jonin and I finish with some needed paperwork, please take this time to introduce yourselves and connect with your teammates. And with that, I'm off."

With a one-hand seal, the Fifth Hokage vanished in a cloud of smoke with the Jonin instructors following his example. The only one left behind was Iruka, who was watching the Orange-clad genin with a concerned stare. He could still hear Naruto boasting about how he was so awesome and could see a few of the other student ready to knock some sense into him. As much as it hurt him to say, he couldn't protect Naruto anymore; he was growing up into a fine ninja. A bit slow, but a fine ninja nonetheless. But his main concern was Killer Bee. Even those who lived in Konoha had heard of what he is capable of. He knew that the two were very much alike, but that didn't make Iruka any less bothered. Taking one last look at his former students, Iruka followed the Jonin in a puff of smoke. By the time he had departed, most of the new genin teams had gathered and went to different areas to connect. Gaara was standing at a distance from his new comrades, but making no effort to talk or even look at them. Unfortunately for the Suna-nin, Fu took the opposite approach. The mint-haired Kunoichi tried to put on the brightest smile she could muster as she ventured over to Gaara's area, waving cheerfully to the redhead.

"Hello my name's Fu."

"…" Gaara pointedly ignored her.

"S-since were on the on the same team we should get along okay?" Fu said slightly put off by his lack of response.

"…"

"So… what happened to your eyebrows anyway?" Fu said no longer able to keep the question off her lips. "Did they get burned off in the dessert or was it special ninja training or something?"

"…" A low growl vibrated from the Suna nin's throat and obvious warning.

"Okay… I'll just… be going… over there." Fu said nervously, and sensing her life was in danger slowly backed away from her imminent she was a safe enough distance from her possibly psychotic teammate. The Takin in sighed and hung her head in defeat.

'Well that's one way to blow a first impression.' She thought lamenting her lack of tack.

It didn't seem like she was going to be getting along with the red haired Suna ninja anytime soon, let alone become friends. Suppressing in a groan of agitation, the green haired kunoichi shuffled over to the aforementioned Uzumaki boy, who was currently making a fool of himself to a group of lingering cloud ninja, something about a stolen scroll and taking down a chunin, probably a major exaggeration. Fortunately, Naruto was able to tear himself away from his story telling and moved to greet his new teammate.

"Hey, you're on my team, right?" Naruto asked excitedly; Fu nodded. "Great! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!"

"Yeah, so I heard." Fu chuckled with a sweatdrop. "Well, I'm Fu from Takigakure. I hope we get along well."

"Yeah…but…this is kinda weird." Naruto said softly, scratching his cheek.

"The International Selection?" Fu blinked curiously.

"No. It's just…I've never seen a guy in a skirt before." Naruto answered, failing to notice the vain in his teammate's forehead. "Is it normal for boys in your village to dress like that? Or are you some kind of cross-dresser?"

The few teams that were still in the training hall greeting their new teammates were suddenly drawn by a furious scream and a booming crash. Naruto's body was smacked against the floorboard, which had cracked slightly under the weight of the impact, and Fu standing over him with her fist raised. The mint-haired Kunoichi had her jaw clenched and her eyes burning with rage beneath the number of throbbing veins on her hand and skull. Any man who valued their lives dived out of the hall immediately – Gaara remained still and watched with mild interest.

"Ow…" Naruto moaned, lifting his head up. "What was that for?"

"I'm a girl, you dumbass!" Fu snarled.

"Huh? Really?" Naruto blinked in realization. "But your chest is so flat."

A moment later, he was six feet beneath the floorboard.

* * *

As a token of friendship to her new comrades Sakura had decided to bring her teammates to lunch at the most popular dango shop in the Konoha market. She sent a silent thank you prayer to Kami that they hadn't met up with the infamous sadist, Anko Mitarashi. If they had they would either end up with their bodies and minds scarred for life or simply scared s*#tless, really the chances were fifty-fifty either way. The pink haired kunoichi still had nightmare from her firsthand experience with the woman. While the new all-female kunoichi team waited for their orders to arrive, Sakura took the opportunity to subtly study the two young teens. Sakura could clearly see that Kurotsuchi was the strongest of all of them simply based by her appearance alone. She was lean, fit, and had a strong frame from years of physical training, her black hair was short and cut short which gave her a tomboyish sort of charm, and her pupils-less eyes shone with complete certainty in her abilities. Her attire consisted a ruby-red, long-sleeved, kimono-shirt with a fishnet undershirt, a pair of black shorts that touched to her knees, a small satchel at her right hip, black sandals, and the red Iwa band around her forehead.

Looking to the Iwa kunoichi's right, Sakura took note that her Hoshi teammate Hokuto was much more shy in comparison, but still leagues more confident than the Hyuuga heiress. She inches shorter than them with brunette hair that framed her face which was dotted with freckles and spiky ponytail in the back. Her clothing was formed from a red and blue dress that stopped short at her knees with a zipper down the middle, a plain-white undershirt, a bright-yellow obi, plain-white stockings, blue sandals, white wristbands, and a blue headband with the Hoshi star on the metal plate. When the food had arrived, Sakura and Hokuto politely thanks their waitress, but Kurotsuchi quickly snatched the nearest stick, gesturing to the other girls.

"All right, first off now that we're a team, we need to establish and order." Kurotsuchi stated, taking the first dumpling off her stick and popping it in her mouth.

"Order?" Hokuto asked naively.

"First off, I think it's safe to say that I'm the leader." The Iwa nin stated not leaving any room for argument, even with her mouth full.

"What makes you the leader?" Sakura challenged with narrowed eyes as the pink eyed kunoichi in question swallowed.

"Because I can beat the crap out of the both of you." Kurotsuchi stated plainly, popping another dango into her mouth. "Unless you would like to prove me wrong? I wouldn't mind check how Konoha's genin stack up."

"No…" Sakura grumbled.

'**_WHO THE HELL DOES THIS BITCH THINK SHE IS!_**' Inner Sakura shrieked.

"But…" Hokuto said obviously afraid of getting threatened too. "I thought Pakura-sensei was our leader."

"Bah! She's from Suna." Kurotsuchi added arrogantly. "And every know Suna-nin are pushovers."

The Kunoichi genin stiffed, but it was Kurotsuchi that was sweating the most. Faster than she could blink, the empty dango stick had disappeared from her hand and was pressed against her jugular vein. Sakura fell backwards on the floor and Hokuto skittered sideways. The one threatening their teammate was an older woman with carmal-brown eyes, green hair tied into a bun, and two orange locks framing her face. Her clothing consisted of a rich-purple, sleeveless, backless top with two lapels on the front and the back, lavender-shaded shorts with matching arm-warmers, a pure-white obi, and blue sandals with bandages around her ankles. Based on the Suna band prominent around her forehead, it was safe to assume that she was their Jonin teacher.

"If this were Suna…" The Scorch release-nin said with a deadly tone. "You'd be dead before you could even reach the border." Pakura removed the wooden weapon from the genin's throat, shoving her between the other two. "I would suggest that you not take Sunagakure lightly it could be the death of you. As of this moment I am your teacher, Pakura of the white sands. I should warn you, I have no intention of going easy on you. I will work you three to the bone, and push your bodies to the limit. Your only options from this point are becoming excellent shinobi or to die trying. I hope I have made myself clear."

"Crystal clear, Pakura-Sensei." Sakura giggled nervously while thinking something else. '_Save me, Sasuke-Kun!_'

* * *

The last of the Uchiha could only wonder how he had arrived at this point of his life. He had only one desire: to grow powerful and kill the one man that had plagued his thoughts since childhood. But everyone seemed to be going out of their way to hold him back. First it was pathetic teachings of the Ninja Academy, then it was the dead-last dropout, and now it was these fools that were assigned to his team. His new teacher and the boy called Kisei had yet to show up, leaving him with the Karin girl. Sasuke sighed out of irritation. Since their first meeting, the Kusa kunoichi had been staring at him like the other girls in the Academy. It had come to his attention that the female gender only had one thing on their minds. Leaning against the railing of the Academy roof, Sasuke spared one glance to his new teammate, who instantly turned away in embarrassment.

Karin was a scrawny girl with unusual apple-red eyes behind her dark-rimmed glances, matching her unique hair color. The hair itself was unusual: one side short, pointy, and unkempt, while the other is long, pin-straight and combed. Her clothes consisted of a tan jacket with a fishnet undershirt, a dark-brown skirt, fishnet stockings, and black sandals. The black band around her forehead was marked with a wave-like pattern on the metal plate, symbolizing her allegiance with Kusagakure. Karin, still shy under Sasuke's gaze, chanced another look at the raven-haired genin. Her eyes meeting Sasuke's, the Kusa Kunoichi resisted the temptation to faint on the spot.

"What?" Sasuke questioned without tact.

"S-sorry." Karin giggled timidly. "I couldn't help… noticing. But it's very intense and powerful."

"Huh?" Sasuke said his curiosity overriding his irritation.

"Your chakra." Karin Karin explained with a shy smile. "I can feel that your chakra is very powerful for someone of your age. Normally you don't see that kind of strength from a genin."

"So you can see chakra?" Sasuke questioned; Karin's face ignited in a blush then nodded. "Interesting"

"That's a useful skill I'm sure it'll come in handy." Karin let out a sqeak as their third teammate, Kisei, literally appeared out of nowhere. "Hey guys my name is Kisei. I'm sure that we will all grow strong together."

Looking over the newcomer, Sasuke didn't think that was a possibility. Kisei was a short genin closer to Naruto's size with snow-white hair that was tied in the back and light-red eyes. His uniform was silver-white, over-sized, high-collared coat wrapped with three black, leather straps at the neck, torso, and waist. With his skill eyes, Sasuke took notice that the boy was completely bandaged from his mouth to his toes, giving him the appearance of an incomplete mummy. One could only image if it's just for appearance or if they were scars from some unspoken torture. Chuckling under Sasuke's examination, Kisei held out a hand to his new teammate as a gesture of friendship. Of course, Sasuke was too cool to accept.

"Just try not to get in my way." Sasuke said rudely.

Wouldn't dream of it." Kisei laughed.

'_This…this can't be right._' Karin thought seriously. Though Sasuke could see nothing wrong, Karin's unique chakra vision picked up something unusual with Kisei's body. '_One, two – no, wait, three – four…five. Five! Five different charka colors are coursing through various portions of his body. But…that can't be right. Unless they were…_'

"Sorry I'm late everyone!"

Once again, Karin jumped and landed on her behind while her male teammates remained unfazed. With a soft laugh, the newcomer bended down and held a helping hand to the embarrassed genin. The hand belonged to a kind-looking woman with chocolate-brown hair that touched to her shoulder and warm brown eyes. She wore a long-sleeved black top, a high waist, lavender skirt apron over a pair of black shorts, dark stockings that reached to her thighs, and blue sandals. The woman's most unique feature was the two purple rectangle markings on each of her cheeks. In her mind's eye, Karin could see this woman's chakra was sensationally warm – the girl knew she could trust her. Heaving Karin back to her feet, the woman used a quick moment to brush of the dust clinging to the student's cloth; almost in a motherly manner.

"There you go." The woman smiled warmly. "Aren't you a pretty little lady?"

"Th-thank you." Karin stammered; her cheeks warm with embarrassment at the compliment.

"Now that everyone's here." The woman greeted kindly. "My name's Rin and I'll be your Jonin instructor. I hope we can all get along."

"Tch." Sasuke scoffed.

"Agreed, Rin-Sensei." Kisei nodded.

Walking through one of the many parks that covered Konoha, the genin trio from Kumo was following the dirt path with their minds on today's events. Samui, who was clearly the leader of the o, was a fair-skinned woman with straight, golden-blond hair that faired her face and ocean-blue eyes that concealed all emotion. In comparison to the other Kunoichi, Samui was the most developed having already showing a curvaceous figure and sizable breast – A fact Karui was visibly jealous of. Her outfit consisted of a very low-cut, steel-grey shirt that exposed a good portion of her cleavage with white cloud prints on the shoulders and back; a snow-white girdle with silver laces around her stomach, a short-black skirt, and knee-length boots.

Karui, the second female of the team, listened intently to their leader – her mind was still raging why Samui was so well-endowed. Karui was pretty in her own way due to her dark skin, blazing-amber eyes, and unique blood-red hair that reached down her back in a choppy pattern. Her clothes were a short-sleeved, snow-white shirt with the kanji of "light" stitch over her heart, a pair of dark track pants wrapped around the ankles, black sandals, and a standard katana strapped to her back with the strap reaching across her right shoulder to her left hip. The Kumo headband was modified into a bandanna that wrapped around her head.

The only male named Omoi seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, which earned a sharp knuckle over his head from his fiery partner. Omoi was a dark-skinned man with spiky, shocking-white hair and pitch-black eyes that had thought line around the edges. His cloths were made from a black hoodie with the kanji of "thought" on the right sleeve, black pants similar to Karui's, black sandals, red wristbands, and the Kumo forehead protector around his head on white cloth. As far as she could remember, Karui had never seen her teammate with the lollipop in his mouth, which constantly irritated her to no end.

"Hey, you two heard what they said about the last team?" Samui asked impassively.

"Yeah! What the hell!" Karui exclaimed with unexpected fury. "This is the first time Bee-Sama has left Kumo in years and he's gonna be spendin' with a loudmouth loser and two amateurs! If anything, he should be trainin' me!"

"What if Bee-Sama like training them?" Omoi rambled. "What if he likes spending time in the other villages? What he leaves the village? What if he finds a girl and starts a family in an enemy village? What if he tells other nations about or secret techniques?"

"Stop being so pessimistic!" Karui sneered, landing another blow over her teammates head.

"Bee-Sama is loyal to Kumogakure and Lord Raikage." Samui said with certainty. "But Karui does have a point."

"She does/I do?" Karui and Omoi asked simultaneously.

"Darui-Sensei said that Bee-Sama has never left the village since the Third Shinobi World War." Samui explained, leaning her head back to stare into the sky. "I wonder what changed Lord Raikage's mind."

* * *

Kirigakure lived up to its name as the Hidden Mist Village. The cylindrical structures and mossy fields were covered in a soft mist, bordered by a thicker mist that guarded it from the outside. In the heart of the village, as the widest and most elaborate building, was the Mizukage's mansion. The leader of the Kiri ninja was seated comfortably along the couch in the den, gazing peacefully into the evening mist after a long day of paperwork. The Mizukage reached over to the side table, pouring a fresh glass of wine, when someone started knocking outside the door.

"Enter." The Mizukage called.

The doorway opened to allow a middle-aged man entrance before shutting it behind him. The man had foggy-blue hair that seemed to stick upwards with a black patch over his right eyes. Beneath his aqua-green kimono, he wore brown-striped shirt and pants, blue Shinobi sandals, and the Kiri headband prominent around his forehead. Strangely enough, he wore a talisman on each ear that bared the symbols meaning "to hear". The one-eyed shinobi bowed to his leader's back, carrying a thin sheet of paper under his arm.

"What is it Ao?" The Mizukage questioned irritably, the only thing he was in the mood for now was curling up in bed with his wife. "It had better be something important. I was just about to go to bed after a long day of endless piles of paperwork."

"Forgive me, Lord Mizukage." Ao apologized. "But I've received word that the International Selection is over."

"And…?" The Mizukage responded.

"As you requested," Ao reported, handing the sheet to his leader. "Naruto of Konoha, Gaara of Suna, and Fu of Taki have all been assigned to the same team with Killer Bee of Kumo at the head."

"So the Raikage finally came to his senses." The Mizukage smirked. "That man can be very infuriating when he doesn't get what he wants."

"Understand his reasoning, Lord Mizukage." Ao interrupted. "Given Killer Bee's history and the similar the backgrounds of those three children, you can't blame the Raikage for being hesitant to comply. After all…you know better than anyone what they are."

"And that is exactly why I wanted Killer Bee to train them." The Mizukage stated, setting the paper aside. "Because he is the only one that can train them. Despite his…unusual tendencies, that man is the only capable of training them and keeping their power in check. I am speaking particularly of Kyuubi's Jinchuriki. Remember what happened to the last one." The Mizukage took a quick sip of his wine. "Has Konoha found the cause of the incident?"

"Nothing so far." Ao shook his head. "All that was left behind from that incident was the mask given to you by the Fifth Hokage."

"It is a mystery that will one day come to light." The Mizukage murmured. "In the meantime, send a letter to Gari of Iwa. I want a full report on his student and make sure that the last of Kiri's treasures are still safe."

"Yes, Yagura-Sama." Ao bowed.

Whatever caused the Kyuubi to run rampant could not happen again. Not to him, he owed his father too much to let him die. Yagura continued to watch the misty pattern running across his window after Ao had left to perform his task. I'd only been two months since he was almost killed by the mysteries masked man, it was only thanks to Isobu that he was able to survive. Whether he consciously knew it or not a storm was coming and he had to prepare for it. Having the sudden urge of interest, the Mizukage set down his wine glass and walked over to the bookcase on the far wall. Nestled in the middle of rows of books was a small glass class containing only one item – the sole clue to a daunting mystery. Yagura never relinquished his gaze from the mask pattern into a red swirl – a whirlpool.

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

"You should show respect to your superiors."

"That's some harsh tunes, little lady."

"Failure is impossible."

"You're about to face the Killer Bee Sting!"

**Next time: Survival Test Sting of the Killer Bee**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Note: ****Alright sorry I not the fastest updater but I hope the chapter was worth it. Feel free to comment or not. Both flames and compliments are welcome. Also I have a question for you guys. Once I finish re-writing all thirty-seven chapters I get to start creating new material, so my question is who should I pair Gaara up with? It could be anyone his age. It could be someone predictable like Matsuri or someone completely out their like Tenten. Heck you could even vote for Shion from the first shippiden movie. Feel free to pick whoever. Thank you for reading.**


	3. The Killer Bee Sting

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's note: First off I would like to give a hearty thank you to Zero the Leech who has given me permission to continue this story and give me a free pass to rewrite the story however I please as long as within reason. Also I would like you're input on story ideas and I will run them by Zero the Leech. Please feel free to comment or flame all reviews are welcome.**

* * *

**Episode 3: Survival Test, Sting of the Killer Bee**

* * *

Naruto was using every ounce of will power he had to stop himself from slamming his head into the desk. He probably would've already done it already if it weren't for the fact that his skull wasn't still sore from the through beating he received from the Taki kunoichi. If it weren't for his substantial endurance, he'd probably be in a coma now. Even with the brain damage, he was still beyond excited to meet his jonin sensei. But over the past hour, his excitement wore down from being over the moon to being, well… headslamingly annoyed.

"He's late!" Naruto yelled; a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"Yes, you've said that forty-seven times in the last hour." Fu said, feeling like she should give the blonde another knock to the head. "Come up with some new material will ya."

"What kind of elite ninja can't even show up when he's supposed to!" Naruto said; his frown turning into a pout. "I know the other teams have gotten their teachers. I saw Sakura-chan with her sensei in the dango shop before I got here!"

"Naruto." Gaara spoke with a killing edge that was only picked up by Fu while Naruto continued to grumble obviously. "Our sensei is a shinobi of the highest caliber and therefore we should show him our respect."

"Huh, you were so quiet, I forgot you were there." Fu stated with a chuckle, but went silent at Gaara's glare.

"But Naruto has a point."

"He does/I do" Fu and Naruto said together.

"Whoever this shinobi is, he should know how unprofessional it is to appear later than the planned meeting time." Gaara's gaze shifted to the door of the room. "It makes you wonder what kind of shinobi he is."

Fu sat on the desk behind her. "Lord Hokage said that our Jonin sensei was a guy named 'Killer Bee' from Kumogakure. I'll bet he's some punk. You know, the kind that is late, likes to read racy novels, and doesn't seem to care about anything."

"You're bumming out my 'tude, little lady."

It was hard to explain how the Kumo nin came suddenly appeared next to Fu. There was no warning, no plume of some, not a single sound - it didn't even look like he had entered through the doors or windows. Just that he had spoken to them was the only thing that would have tipped them off to his presence. Fu's reaction was understandable being as close as she was. That being said, it still hurt like hell when she slammed her head against the floor behind her in surprise.

"Son of a..." Fu schreeched. "Where the hell did you come from?!"

Naruto ignored his teammate's exclamation and shouted: "Awesome! How'd you do that?"

"Impossible… he moved too fast." Gaara spoke softly. "I couldn't even track him."

The Kumo shinobi was massive man with a body built like a tank. His skin was a shade darker than Fu's while his garbs were in Kumo white, a white scarf wrapped around his neck, along with a head band on his forehead. His white vest was strapped over one shoulder and had a red rope tied around the bottom. His pants were black with crisscrossing bandages over the knees that led to two shin guards with three red strips in the front over a pair of brown sandals. On his hands he wore two gloves also with three strips but also a brown circle on the back of each palm. His face was hard to read, his white-blonde hair was slicked back into a mullet, that went well with the his matching goatee. He was also marked under his sun glasses with two blue horns in the same color ink as the Tetsu (iron) symbol on his shoulder. The feature that Gaara was most aware of was the seven swords on his back.

"_Seven… why seven swords?_" Gaara pondered.

"Sorry, little lady, I didn't mean to give you a start." Killer Bee said, holding out his hand to the young kunoichi. "I assure you my personality's not that dark."

There was a beat of silence...and Fu said "Eh?"

"The Hokage gave me you three to train." Killer Bee said, giving them a thumbs up. "Stick with me and I'll show you how to bring the Pain"

Fu looked befuddled and slightly fearful due to the thought of being stuck with not one, not two, but three complete weirdoes for the rest of her genin career. Gaara, though he didn't show it, was starting to think he should have stayed in Suna. Naruto stared at their instructor like he wanted him to start show off all his secret jutsus, right from the get go.

"I'm afraid this is where we say goodbye." Killer Bee said "But don't worry I'll see you on the roof in five."

With that statement, he burst into a cloud of smoke and disappeared, presumably making his was to the roof. Naruto, Gaara and Fu stared at the spot where their sensei once stood as if expecting something to come from that.

"Well he was-" "Gaar began.

"Awesome!" Naruto interrupted, much to Gaara's ire. "Do you think he can teach me to rap?"

"NO!" Was the immediate response from both the green haired spitfire and the sleepless shinobi. Naruto recoiled at their reaction before sitting down, grumbling under his breath. Fu started walking towards the door before looking back.

"Well we should probably see what our fearless leader wants us to do."

Naruto jumped over his desk and made his way to follow Fu. Gaara trailed slowly behind, seeming to be in no rush. Once they got on the roof they saw their sensei standing around looking completely conspicuous. Naruto ran over to the ledge in the middle of the roof sitting in front of Bee his legs crossed, Fu took the spot a few feet to his right while Gaara stood to his left. The Cloud nin Took a moment to look at his protégés before addressing them.

"Yo, my name's Killer Bee, don't wear it out. Stick with me and you'll be top class, no doubt. Before we begin our strict training regime, tell me about yourself, come on, I don't have all day."

"Shut up!" Fu yelled irritably. "Stop rapping already! Don't you realize how much you suck at it?!"

The platinum blond glared at the mint green Jinchuuriki.

"I don't like you."

"The feeling's mutual."

"Hey, Bee-sensei." Naruto started. "What do you want us to say about ourselves?"

"Bee-sensei...I like that." Killer Bee said rubbing his chin. "Anything personal is great, but make sure it doesn't run too late."

"Why don't you go first, muscles, so we know what to do?" Fu spoke challengingly.

Killer Bee suddenly started a beat; Fu instantly regretted speaking. "Yo, my names Killer Bee, this is what I have to say. I spitting out rhymes for you all day. I don't like people who give me a hassle, but you don't want to face me in any battle. My dream is pretty simple yo, I'm gonna be rap king of the world and put on a show."

Fu stared are her Jonin instructor with horror. "This is gonna be a regular thing, isn't it?"

He pointed his finger to Naruto. "Since you asked, you get to go first. But don't try to rush; you don't want to be the worst."

Naruto smiled widely. "Thanks Bee-sense. I don't know what to say, don't worry it won't last all day. My names Naruto as you can see, don't think fighting me will be a breeze." Naruto would have continued to rap if not the murderous intent being directed at him by his two teammates. Deciding he didn't want to die, he switched to his regular introduction. "I like cup ramen. But I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-Sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I put the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramen."

"_Well, at least he's consistent._" Killer Bee sweat dropped.

"_How the hell is he not fat?_" Fu thought, sulking in jealousy.

"And finally..." Naruto paused almost unconsciously for dramatic effect. "My dream is to become the greatest Hokage and gain everyone's recognition. Believe it!"

Fu stared in wonderment at Naruto's bold claim. Even Gaara glanced over in interest.

"Well..." Killer Bee thought, smirking. "It looks like he inherited more from his mother than just his name." He glanced over to Fu. "Well, Naruto, it's good you have passion and a lot at that, but I think it's time we move on the disrespectful brat."

"Thanks." Fu said said sarcastically. "My name is Fu Nagare. I like seeing the world, but love my village more. I hate people thinking I'm a boy." She shot Naruto a glare, causing him to shrink back. "My hobby is sweet-gum seed collecting, and my dream is to became a strong ninja so that I can protect my family and show everyone that I'm not that same crybaby Fu anymore."

"Crybaby?" Naruto thought curiously.

"So, wait…" Killer said breaking his rhythm and tapping his chin. "You're girl?"

"Of course I'm a girl, you jackass! What kind of guy wears a skirt?!" Fu screeched. "What gives people the idea that I'm a boy?"

"Your chest is flat." Gaara stated bluntly.

Fu turned her head automatically; her eyes red and her teeth gnashing.

"I'LL MURDER YOU, TEME!"

Fu lunged towards Gaara completely disregarding the fact the he was probably more powerful than her. Naruto scrambled back, eager to avoid the Taki-nin's wrath. Gaara stared at the oncoming threat waiting for his shield to activate, but before it had the chance Bee grabbed Fu around her waist and pulled her back. Killer Bee noticed his gourd had shifted a little.

"_Interesting_"

"LET ME GO! I'LL RIP THAT STUPID TATTOO RIGHT OFF HIS FACE!"

"Calm down, my bratty student. No one likes to hear you whine. Just one more person and then we'll be fine." Fu struggled a bit before being set down a turning away in a huff. "Now it's just down to you, boy with the tattoo."

"My name is Gaara Sakabu." Gaara spoke softly; his voice barely a whisper. "I like nothing. I hate everything. There is no time for hobbies. A dream would be meaningless."

"_Isn't he a ray of sunshine._" Naruto sweat-dropped

"_It looks like he received the worst of it. He's probably going to need the most work._" Bee studied the red head closely.

"_I wonder if it has anything to do with his eyebrows._" Fu pondered.

"It seems like my students are pretty cool." He glances at Fu pointedly. "Well, except for the one that's as charming as drool."

"Kiss my ass!"

"Since you guy are up to the beat, I think I'll give you a little treat." Bee suddenly stopped rapping becoming serious. "Tomorrow we'll meet at the training grounds and start out first training mission."

"Wait, why do we need to train, we got plenty of that in our villages." Naruto asked

"This is not just any training." Bee said, smirking. "All the teams have to go through this. And a little heads up: out of the eighteen teams deployed today, only three will get to stay."

"_What a ridiculous bluff._" Gaara thought in disbelief. "_If only three teams get to become genin, then what would be the point of the International Selection? Some villages wouldn't be able to take part and that would hardly improve foreign relations. Who would be stupid enough to fall for such a trick?_"

"_No way am I getting held back again._" Naruto mentally screamed, his forehead sweating "_I can't lose after I've come so far._"

"_What? He can't be serious._" Fu thought seriously. "_I'm going to pass this test even if I have to do it on my own._"

Gaara stared at his teammates as they processed the information and resisted the urge to sigh. "_Of course_"

"Meet me at the training grounds at six thirty sharp." Killer Bee said, grinning. "Also don't eat breakfast. You'll just throw up."

And with that, Killer Bee left his students in a cloud of smoke, leaving them with more questions than answers. And on that night, neither Naruto nor Fu were able to close their eyes and find proper sleep in fear of tomorrow's events. But Gaara, on the other hand, had a more…interesting night.

* * *

Gaara's eyes had not blinked once during the enitre night, nor did he show signs of sleep or exhaustion. He was just...awake. Standing at the pinnicple of the of the tallest building in the commercial district, Gaara just watched as shop owner began closing down for the night. As his eyes wanded over the slowly deserting streets, he spied a single man hobbling in the alley way. He was obviously drunk; completely clueless to the world around him; utterly defenseless.

"_You could kill him, you know._"

"..."

"_All it takes is one hand - no, one finger and it would be over. He wouldn't feel a thing._"

"..."

"_Don't tell me you are still going along with that weak insect you call a Kage._"

"..."

"_I know you want to do it! You have to do it! This is who you are - who we are!_"

Gaara's inner conflict was interrupted when a pigeon land behind him with a flap, tearing his gaze away from the drunk. Without even so much as a twitch, a spike of pure sand appeared above the bird and speared through its back, silencing it forever. That night went the same as it always had since the day he was born. And when the time came for the meeting, he finally moved - he has not slept once.

* * *

When Naruto and Fu arrived at the training grounds, they looked substantially worse than their red-headed teammate. Naruto had spent a good thirty minutes stumbling around the barely lit street; his mind too sleepy to remember directions. His hair was even messier than usual along with terrible bags under his eyes.

Fu arrived even later than Naruto - a fact irritated her only slightly less than the fact that their supposed sensei had still yet to arrive. In her rush to leave her new apartment, she had not been able to shower or brush her teeth. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were blood-shot. Naruto stared at her lazily as she arrived.

"What?!" Fu snapped.

Naruto sleepily pointed to his jaw, showing Fu where she had some dried drool. She blushed before hastily rubbing the spit off her face before looking to Naruto for confirmation that she was clean. He gave her a tired thumb's up before returning to his zombie-like state for the next thirty minutes. All of which were completely Killer bee-less. This continued for the next 3 hours by which the three shinobi spent their time imagining ways to castrate their would-be sensei.

"Yo." Killer Bee said when he finally arrived.

"You're late, asshole!"

"Sorry, sorry." Killer Bee chuckled. "I was busy busting out my rhymes. But when I looked up, I lost track of time."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" The copper toned tomboy screamed. "No one cares about your stupid rhymes.

Bee ignored that comment, walking up to stand in front of the three. He pulled a cooking timer out of his pocket, turned the dial, and set it on the ground.

"Alright, here's you test." Killer Bee instructed. "Better listen up if you want to do your best. As a treat, I brought you all lunch. But only if win by the end of this crunch. Believe me when I say you'll be going through hell, but in the end all you have to do…" He reached into his pocket again, pulling out a pair of minute bells. "-is grab a bell."

Fu and Naruto stared at the bells feeling underwhelmed. Gaara, however noticed a problem. "There are only two."

"That's right, there are only two bells." Killer Bee confirmed. "You have until this timer goes off to grab one and then you're safe. If you fail, you will be tied to these stumps and have to watch the others eat their lunch." At that moment, the three genin's stomachs growled together in hunger. "Sounds bad, doesn't it?"

"_So that's why he told us not to eat breakfast._" They all thought, sweat dropping.

"Y'all better get ready liked like you're ready to kill. Use shuriken, kunai, and any other skills." Bee said tying the bells to his side. The three genin got determined looks, showing their resolve.

"_These guys are not going to beat me. I'm going to win no matter what! Believe it!_" Naruto thought, his will unwavering.

"_I don't know anything about Gaara but…_"Fu looked over to Naruto "_I can tell that Naruto won't be able to compete. That makes things easier._"

"_This mission is pointless._" Gaara eye's narrowed. "_Failure against this fool is an impossibility._"

"Ha! Grab a bell this'll be easy for me, no problem." Naruto said, trying to hide his nervousness

"The weakest links always scream and shout." Killer Bee taunted. "That's why they're called the dead-last dropout."

"You…!" Naruto growled.

Without warning, he rushed at the Kumo Jonin, whipping out a kunai to attack. Before the Genin could even take a step forward, Bee disappeared from view. The next thing Naruto knew he found himself with his arm pulled behind his head and the kunai tip pressed against his neck. Fu and Garaa stepped away, unable to comprehend how their teacher has got behind them so quickly.

"Hold up there, little buddy." Killer Bee chuckled. "I can see you're eager to study."

"_So… fast!_" Fu thought, mouth agape.

"_Hmm…his speed could prove a problem._" Gaara analyzed.

"Alright, I've wasted enough time, let's start the show." Killer Bee said, letting go of Naruto. "On your mark, get ready, get set, and go!"

* * *

Eleven minutes. That's how long it had been since Bee had started the counter. Leaving the three genin forty-five minutes till the test was over. Gaara had made his hiding place under the ground; using the third eye he created from sand to keep track of the Jonin in safety. Fu had made her stake out place from atop the tree, hiding within their foliage. Not as good as Gaara's hiding spot, but still relatively safe. But both places were useless because Bee had already spotted them within minutes, but chose to let them believe they were working.

"_The basic for a ninja is to conceal your presence and hide._" Killer Bee thought proudly. "_Gaara and the brat seem to be doing all right. But what happened to…?_"

"Hey, muscle head!" Killer Bee nearly tripped over himself. He slowly turned, finding Naruto out in the open with his arms crossed confidently. "No more tricks! We're gonna have a match fair and square! And when I win, I'm taking that bell!"

"Baka…" Gaara sighed

"Geez, why is he such an idiot?" Fu grumbled.

"I don't mean to be rude." Killer Bee said oddly. "But you are one dumb dude."

"The only thing that's dumb is your beard!" Naruto yelled.

"Hey, my beard is awesome!" Killer Bee snapped.

Despite scolding the genin his plan was actually the smartest. When facing an enemy, who's tracking skill, is superior to one's stealth skills the best option is to take the opponent head on so to not be caught off guard on their terms. However, Killer Bee knew that despite this, Naruto didn't have any real plan to begin with. Naruto being the ever-loving knuckle-head rushed at Killer Bee before suddenly jumping back once he saw Bee reaching a hand into his weapons pouch. Getting ready for the incoming attack, he stood his ground. However, nothing could prepare him for when pulled out a small notebook.

"What's wrong?" Killer Bee asked, taking a pencil to his notebook. "Didn't think you'd take so long."

"Uhh… what's that?" Naruto said, thoroughly befuddled.

"Just thought of a sweet new rhyme." Killer Bee replied, engrossed in his notebook. "I have to write it down in time. Don't worry, I know what you're gonna say. Just keep going – it's no different anyway."

"Augh!" Naruto growled angrily. "I'm gonna pound you!"

Once again Naruto's brain pleaded with him to think of a plan, but was yet again ignored. Naruto screamed in frustration, getting close enough to the Jonin to let out a barrage of kicks and punches all with the intended target to bring down his sensei. However, each blow was easily blocked by the muscular jonin. Touching back down to the ground, the blond student lowered himself and attempted a windmill kick to the Jonin's shins. Unfortunately, this only resulted in a bruise forming on Naruto's heel. Gaara and Fu watched on in disappointment as their knucklehead comrade jumped around like an idiot, crying pathetically over his injury.

"You would think he'd learn by now." Fu sweat-dropped.

Naruto now beyond pissed off. He threw himself at his opponent, but soon realized that he was rushing at nothing. The second he felt a palm resting on the back of his head and a needle-like sword against his back, his blood turned to ice. Daring to glance back, he saw the Killer Bee himself smirking, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

"One important lesson to keep in mind." Killer Bee said seriously. "Never let your enemy get you from behind."

"B-B-Bee-Sensei." Naruto said shakily. "Isn't this going a little far."

"In the ninja world, you oughta be dead." Killer Bee stated. "Maybe this will get it through your head. Keep your eyes open and don't miss a thing. You're about to face the Killer Bee Sting!"

At that moment, time seemed to slow down for Naruto Uzumaki. Barely able to look over his shoulder, the Konoha Genin stopped and stared at the narrow blade being pulled back before slowly making its descent. And then…pain. Pain unlike anything Naruto had ever felt before. The world started to revolve around him and only Fu's screams punctures the deathly silent grounds.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

* * *

"He's actually… pretty cool."

"Hee hee! He must have been in a hurry that he dropped a bell."

"Who're ya looking for?"

"Bee-Sensei… become part of my existence…..make me feel alive again."

**Next time: Grab the Bell! The Armored Beetle Shattered**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Note: ****Once again I would like to apologize for taking so long I can't promise that I will update faster but I do promise I will do everything in my power to try harder. Also to Zero the Leech I'm sorry I didn't change the last bit of the chapter much but it was my favorite part of the chapter so I keep it the same. Hope you don't mind. Once again I will try everything possible to work faster even with college now.**


	4. Grab the Bell The Armored Beetle Shatter

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: I once again apologize for taking so long to update I'll try to find more time in the day to write. Also I would like to once again welcome all criticisms. I always love getting replies on how I doing. Also be sure to thank Zero the Leech for the original story and reviewing this one. Now let's get on with the story.**

* * *

**Episode 4: Grab the Bell! The Armored Beetle Shattered!**

* * *

Naruto Uzamaki was not having the best day. He had to get up at an ungodly hour, he didn't have breakfast, he might be sent back to the academy, and he was currently getting his ass handed to him. He tried simply attacking his Jonin Sensei, but that only resulted in him getting bruises on his hands and ankles. The Kumo-nin was built like a freaking rock. He didn't budge no matter how many times Naruto hit him. Naruto thought he could wear him down, but that plan was shot, and now he found himself in a rather compromising position. He could feel the cool tip of metal poke into his back.

Gaara observed the rather one sided battle from his hiding spot underground. His third eye took in every detail of the shade wearing Jonin. Fu, however, had a more humane reaction.

"Dammit" Fu whispered, chewing her nails in worry. She may want her teammate to lose, but not if it paralyzed him. "Come on, Bee-sensei, stop messing around!"

"One important lesson to keep in mind." Killer Bee said seriously. "Never let your enemy get you from behind."

"B-B-Bee-Sensei." Naruto said shakily. "Isn't this going a little far?"

"In the ninja world, you oughta be dead." Killer Bee stated. "Maybe this will get it through your head. Keep your eyes open and don't miss a thing. You're about to face the Killer Bee Sting!"

At that moment, time seemed to slow down for Naruto Uzumaki. Barely able to look over his shoulder, the Konoha Genin stopped and stared at the narrow blade being pulled back before slowly making its descent. And then…pain. Pain unlike anything Naruto had ever felt before. The world started to revolve around him and only Fu's screams punctures the deathly silent grounds.

"NARUTO!"

"Too late!" Killer Bee exclaimed.

Naruto had experienced pain before – most of which was inflicted on by a certain pink haired fangirl – but nothing could compare to the excruciating pain that centered on his rear end. The silver lining was the fact that he was still alive. But that didn't stop him from being shot into the air like a bullet, his hands placed on his hindquarters, and then falling face first into the river. If Gaara could somehow frown with his disembodied eye, he would've.

'_He's a child, a complete child._' He'd wouldn't have cared if Naruto had died, but his new sensei was taking this just about as seriously as the Fourth Kazekage took parenting. Fu's reaction was more… physical. Gaara's eye turned at the sound of something falling out of the tree. Fu had fallen straight out of her hiding spot and had what looked like a painful landing. That didn't deter her from voice her aggravation.

"Killer Bee Sting, my foot!" Fu yelled. "All you did was shove a sword up his ass!"

"You better be careful how you act." Killer Bee smirked "Cause of that I found you and that's a fact."

"…Oh" Fu muttered weakly. "Crap, I didn't think of that."

"Idiots..." Gaara thought; his eye still twitching. "They're all idiots."

Beneath the creek Naruto was currently focusing all his willpower and intelligence to formulate a plan to take down his Kumo sensei…

'OW OW OW! THAT TEME STABBED ME IN THE ASS!'

…at least he would be if not for the pain in his rear cheeks so bad that he wouldn't be able to sit right for a week. Once Naruto's rage subsided he sulked since couldn't land a single hit on the larger shinobi.

'_No…_' He thought determined. '_… I can't let it end this way!_'

Fu got into a battle stance preparing to attack. However before she could she heard a splash and coughing. She looked toward the Creek where Naruto had crawled onto the river bank. "Damn… *pant*… you!"

"You bragged and boosted that you were the best, but it turns out that you're all wet." Killer Bee tried to rap.

"Shut up! That last one didn't even rhyme!" Naruto threw two shuriken he had on hand. Killer Bee side stepped them easily.

"A ninja must take into account all factors in a fight." He smirked despite breaking his rhythm. "Including the option of surrender."

"Like hell! I'm not scared of you and I never give up!"

"Don't say thing you can't follow through"

"I never go back on my word. That's my nindo! My ninja way!" As soon and Naruto said that six clones sprung forth from the creak and charged at the goateed ninja. An examination from a lesser ninja would reveal them to be simple clones, however the two Genin and Jonin were able to tell the difference almost immediately due to the clones causing the grass to rustle, and water to drip off them.

"He can use the shadow clone jutsu…" Gaara said mildly surprised. "A jutsu that creates clones out of shadows and chakra. Though increasing the numbers of the user it divides the chakra evenly between the clones and the user." He studied Naruto for signs of exhaustion. "However this doesn't seem to be the case with Naruto… have I underestimated him?"

'_So that's the advanced technique that Kakashi talked about._' Killer Bee then smirked '_But it seems that he doesn't know its full potential yet. He won't be able to get me with that technique._' Suddenly two sets of arms grabbed onto to him from behind. 'What the!'

"Never let your enemy get you from behind, that's what you said right sensei?"

"How…?"

"I transformed two clones into the shuriken I threw earlier." Naruto stated proudly. "Now I'm going to show you what I'm made of!"

"Wow…" Fu whispered; a light blush adorning her cheeks. "…he's actually pretty cool."

Naruto pulled his fist back along with his clones fully intending to knock his sensei for a loop. "This is for stabbing be in the ass!" His punch connected however. "What the! What's going on where'd Bee Sensei go?' One of the clones stated all of them stopping their attacks seeing that they were about to beat up one of their own.

"You're not fooling anyone!" One of the clones stated. "We know that you're Bee sensei in disguise!"

"How do we know you're not Bee sensei?" Another one challenged.

"No way, you're Bee sensei!"

"What was that, teme!"

Before anyone knew what was happening, the Narutos broke out into a free-for-all fist fight. It probably would have been hilarious if it weren't so pathetic.

Gaara sighed in agitation. "No, he really is a fool."

'Okay I take it back.' Fu thought to herself a sweat drop forming on her forehead. 'He is totally lame.'

"Just undo the jutsu!" Said a clone being the voice of reason. "Then only two will be left!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

"Don't yell at me! I'm you!"

"Just undo the jutsu!"

Naruto dispelled the clones leaving only him looking beat up and confused. "Oh come on!" He yelled in irritation before noticing something shining under a nearby tree. "No way!" One of the silver bells was just lying beneath the tree. Naruto started jogging over to it. "He must've dropped it when he left." Naruto said.

Gaara just stared with his one eye. 'No one can be this stupid.'

'_Maybe I should tell him it's a trap._' Fu pondered. '_Nah, I better get out of here before Bee comes back._'

And before Naruto could say dumbass, the rope trap laid out for him snapped up his legs from under him. Naruto yelped as he dangled helplessly from the tree looking quite pathetic. Gaara was starting to see a pattern with the blonde's series of humiliations. As to add insult to injury the rapping jonin appeared from the woods and picked up the aforementioned bell while jotting down what can be assumed to be rhymes in his notebook.

"Sorry to say, but you really stink." Killer Bee taunted. "Before you act, ya need to think. If that was all the moves that you could manage, you are in a major disadvantage. And if you don't wanna look like a sap, try not to fall for the obvious trap."

"Shut up! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Naruto snarled.

"As a ninja you gotta think out of the box." Killer Bee instructed "In order to win you have to be like a fox."

"What do foxes have to do with anything?!"

With one of his students taken care of, Bee made his way back into the forest, ignoring the rather choice curses that Naruto was throwing his way. He knew Gaara was still in his hiding underground, but he would leave him for later. Right now it was time to pay the brat a visit. Gaara remained hidden until he could no longer sense his teacher. He rose up from the ground like some sort of creepy sand monster.

"Bee-sensei is strong, that much I can tell but his still hasn't shown his full arsenal of techniques yet. It's best to keep on observing."

* * *

Fu was currently using all of her strategic prowess to sort through her limited option.

'Damn it, I was careless and revealed myself! How could I make such an amateur mistake?'

Fu continued to run until. She stretched out with her senses to see in Bee was close by. Once she had confirmed that Bee was not in her area she ducked down behind some bushes.

'Naruto didn't even get Bee to show any of his specialized jutsu. All he was using is standard techniques. Oh well, hopefully he'll come looking for me. I'll just stay here and see if I can ambush him!'

"Who are you looking for?" Killer Bee asked suddenly appearing behind Fu.

"Bee-Sensei." Fu answered. "He already took out Naruto, but he won't get the jump on m-Gah"

Fu jumped away trying to establish some distance between them.

"A ninja must be aware; if you can't to that you better beware." Killer Bee said. "Naruto learned that the hard way, you should heed his mistakes or you're gonna pay!"

"Urasai! It's bad enough that your rhymes are crap. But could you give actually helpful advice!"

"I don't like you." Killer Bee deadpanned.

"Screw you too." Fu said this

Suddenly, Fu's skin started to change. What used to be a strong coppery tone changed into a glossy black color. Before Bee had a chance to recover from his surprise, Fu rushed forward sending a windmill strike straight to Bee's head, and attack that would take a normal person's head off, even Bee knew that a direct hit from that would hurt. Leaning back, the assault crossed straight over his head. Fu used the momentum from her swing to spin around slam her leg into Bee's side. The Jonin rolled with the kick and flew a couple feet away from her. Though he wasn't damaged he was starting to take Fu more seriously.

'Maybe I underestimated how this brat is in the ring.' Bee thought. 'But I think all she needs is the old Killer Bee Sting.'

'He was able to block that attack, even with my exoskeleton activated.' Fu thought as her skin returned to its normal shade.

If she could, Fu would be sweating right now, even when pumping charka through her pores to create her exoskeleton, she was still at a disadvantage. Though her skin was as hard as steel, she couldn't perform any ninjutsu due to the focus required to maintain it. And considering all she could do in this form is play defense and hope for a lucky shot she decided to switch tactics.

Dropping from her exoskeleton, Bee saw his chance and flew toward the mint haired kunoichi. Fu had predicted this and threw a kunai at the rapping ninja. Not slowing down he caught the hilt of the kunai fully intending on returning it to its owner. Once he was close enough, he gave a right hook, but before it could impact, he noticed Fu smirking. He only had a fraction of a second to wonder what was causing her amusement until he heard a hissing sound. Glancing at the hand which was about to impact against his student's face he saw a tag attached to the ring of the kunai he was holding.

'Explosive tag!' He mentally cried.

The explosion could be heard throughout the forest and destroyed ten nearby trees.

* * *

Naruto attention would have probably been drawn to the plume of smoke rising from the forest if not for the fact that his ears were roaring do to all the blood rushing to his head.

"Argh, the heck with this!" taking out a kunai from his pouch he threw it at the rope that was holding him up successfully cutting him down. He landed in a crouch and smirked.

"Who's the dead last dropout now Bee-sensei." As if the universe was answering his question a second tripwire snapped his feet out from under him bringing him to his previous position. "AGH! You gotta be kidding me!"

* * *

Bee had barely escaped the blast radius of the explosive tag, though from what he saw it looked like the same didn't apply to Fu.

"Oh man, this is gonna be bad." Killer Bee said worriedly. "When I get back, they're gonna be mad."

"Gah! Your rap still sucks."

Bee sighed in relief seeing that his student was okay. The smoke was blown away by a wind revealing the Taki kunoichi standing in the center of the crater with smoke coming off her glossy black skin. Although she had an explosion take place at point blank range she looked perfectly fine, despite the small burn on her left shoulder.

"Huh I guess she's not that thick considering she defended herself so quick."

"Phew! Just made it in time." Fu sighed in relief. She hissed faintly from the burning sensation on her left shoulder, wincing as she settled her right hand over the mark. "Looks like I was a little late for this one. On the bright side, I'm not dead." Closing her eyes, Fu developed a lime-green glow around her hand. Once removing it, the burn on her shoulder had completely healed. "That's better."

"Look like the brat's a medic-nin, too." Killer Bee pondered, slowly pulling his pencil from his pocket. "Now there's just one thing left to do."

"With that skin, ya think you're tough." Killer Bee challenged, withdrawing two swords from his back. "Get ready, brat, 'cause I play rough."

"Augh! I'm gonna punch you teeth out!" Fu declared before running forward her fist cocked back intending to make good on her promise. However in her rage she forgot her sensei's speed and only realized her mistake when he appeared behind her in the same position as he had with Naruto. Killer Bee smirked as he stabbed forward only to be meeting with a tearing sound and a shriek. Fu jumped forward though not nearly as far as Naruto. Bee fell back in surprise.

'_Huh that didn't feel like it hit her._' Bee thought.

"You…you…" Fu said hesitantly; her face a rosy-red. "HENTAI!"

"Wha?" Killer Bee gapped; his glasses askew.

"You dirty hentai!" Fu shouted embarrassingly. "What do you think you're doing trying to feel up a young lady?"

"Oh, I keep forgetting you're a girl." Killer Bee said honestly.

"TEME!" Fu screamed.

To say Fu was pissed was like to say Naruto had a ramen problem, it goes without saying but probably should be addressed. Practically on fire with rage she flew forward throwing a rapid succession of punches and kicks focusing enough chakra through them to shatter diamonds. Bee quickly stowed his swords and jumped away trying to put some distance between him and Fu. Once he got enough distance he rushed forward put as little power as possible in his next attack. He charged forward and before Fu could even move the rapping ninja's arm slammed across her chest with enough force to punch a hole through a mountain.

"LARIAT!" Killer Bee shouted.

The Taki Kunoichi was hurtled backwards into the ground, suffering from the full force of the impact. She had managed to summon her Exoskeleton to the designated regions in time, but Killer Bee's force was more than enough to cause an instant knock out. Despite the power of the strike the exoskeleton remained intact a testament to its defensive capabilities.

Killer Bee sighed in relief after he felt her pulse. Even if the lariat was only a fraction of its true strength it was still a gamble to use it on a genin. If Fu hadn't been in her exoskeleton she would have had her ribs turned into dust.

"Gotta admit brat, you put on quite the show." Killer Bee thought, standing in full height over his student. "She's definitely got some potential, but she's still gotta long way to go." An amused smirk grew on his lips. "It's just you and me, sand man. Hope ya got a game plan."

Gaara of the Desert appeared from the shadows of the forest, not bothering to respond to the Jonin instructor. His aqua-green eyes wandered over to Fu's unconscious form for a short moment, but showed no sympathy for the fallen Kunoichi. She was a weakling – he could not be accountable for her and Naruto's actions. Killer Bee turned full face to his final student, whom he had expected to be more of a challenge in comparison to the other two. According to his file, Gaara was particularly dangerous.

"Naruto is a fool and Fu is just as weak." Gaara decreed monotonously. "But…you'll find that I am on different level than those two."

"Tell me that after you get the bell." Killer Bee challenged in an unimpressed fashion. "Unless you step it up, there's gonna be hell."

"I have grown quite annoyed with your words." Gaara stated in a darker tone. The Kumo Jonin snapped his hand up, catching the wooden stopper thrown his way; Gaara had uncorked his mysterious gourd.

'_Blood. She needs blood._'

"I have no intention of allowing an absurd man like you interfere with all that I have worked for. I will not allow you to halt my existence."

'_Mother needs blood!_'

"Your existence?" Killer Bee repeated curiously.

'_Rip, crush, and kill!_'

"I will…never fade away." Gaara murmured; his body began to shake. "It's been…so long…since this body has felt such excitement."

'_You must kill!_'

"Hmm…" Killer Bee hummed curiously.

'_Kill, Kill, KILL!_'

"Bee-Sensei…" Gaara said lowly. "Become part of my existence…..make me feel alive again."

Suddenly the area was surrounded by a noise. Like a snake hissing but not as high pitched. Bee looked around him and saw several streams of sand flowing through the area like water in a current. All of it gravitating toward Suna's ultimate weapon. The Kumo nin stared into the red headed murder's eyes and saw pure blood lust. Bee knew that he would have to be on his best or else he would die. The sand form a large claw before rushing forward with the intent to kill.

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

* * *

"My Sand Shield protects me from all harm."

"AHH! Severed head!"

"My name is Gaara. A self-loving carnage."

"He's just like…me."

**Next time: Test Results! You Fail!**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Note: ****First off I would like to apologize profusely for taking so long I will accept all angry reviews and hateful comment. I would make any excuse but now that I'm going to college instead of a job a can say with certainty that I will be dedicating Saturday and Sunday to writing so I should be making steady progress. Thank you all for your support and patients.**


	5. Test Results! You Fail!

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: Alright, last of the introduction arc thank you all for you loyalty with this story also be sure to thank Zero the Leech for letting me take over this story. On a different note has anyone seen the last chapter of Naruto? I think they padded it so that it would be an even 700 chapter. What are your thoughts on that feel free to include them in the review? Now before we start I would like to get a couple guidelines in this story out of the way. First off there will be no Naruto harem of any kind. I don't have anything against harems but for this story the best way to proceed is to present it as singular couples. Naruto will have a love interest in Fu and will only date her. They may not get together till later and they may have a challenger for Fu's or Naruto's affection, but they will be the main pairing. Secondly, for all those wondering in this universe all the Jinchuuriki are alive and have their tailed beast inside of them. Finally, this is not going to be like the Naruto god stories, I have nothing against those stories, but for this story Naruto will have a similar level of power to the show and a similar power growth. Thank you for your patients and without a further a due let's start the next chapter!**

* * *

**Episode 5: Test Results! You Fail!**

* * *

Halfway across the training grounds, Killer Bee and Gaara were standing on opposite sides of the clearing – Fu laid unconscious on the edge of the forest. The Suna-nin had uncorked his mysterious gourd, releasing the payload of sand it contained. Coming from a place known as the Hidden Sand Village, the idea wasn't that usual.

Clouds of grain circled the unblinking redhead that stared menacingly towards his teacher as they formed a large claw like appendage. Killer Bee was quick to notice the look in his student's eyes the signs of bloodlust were easy to follow. Very cautiously, the rapping Jonin reach his right hand back to take two of the swords on his back between his fingers.

"Bee-Sensei…" Gaara said lowly. "Become part of my existence…..make me feel alive again."

The second his hand touched the hilt of his sword, the claw of sand surrounding Gaara rushed forward with the intent of crushing his prey. Bee swiftly jumped over the appendage and thrust out his leg only for it to be met with a thin layer of sand. The sand started to encase the Kumo-nin's leg. Thinking quickly he took a sword out and sliced at the sand holding him down and jumped away from harm.

"Your efforts are futile. If you keep going at this pace, you will achieve nothing." Gaara murmured as Killer Bee landed safely. "You told Naruto that a ninja can't fall for obvious traps. But a ninja also can't expect to win using the same tactic over and over."

"Hey now there's no need to hate." Bee rapped. "After all, it worked on your teammates."

"You'll find that I belong to a different world entirely."

Suddenly, a spike of sand thrust through the ground with the intent of impaling the rapping ninja. He defended with two blades cutting the spike in three before hurling them straight towards the eyebrowless young man. Without moving an inch, the sand once again came to his aid, deflecting the first sword to strike the other.

"I can see that didn't go as planned." Killer Bee rapped. "Guess there's more to you and your weird sand."

"My Sand Shield protects me from all harm." Gaara explained. "If there is any chance of danger, the Sand Shield will automatically defend, even against my will. It is my absolute defense."

"I can see you would have most opponents on the defense." Killer Bee said confidently. "But you better watch out 'cause now I'm going on the offense."

"Very well then." Gaara responded dully. "And from your corpse, the bitter crimson tears will flow and mingle with the endless sand and I will learn to live once more."

* * *

If Naruto was judging the time right (And he most likely wasn't) then it had been about forty-five minutes since the test had started, thirty-seven of which he'd spent hung upside down like a piñata.

"Fourteen! He set fourteen rope traps!" Naruto yelled to no one in particular.

It was bad enough that Naruto had been completely made a fool of but now everything he saw was tinted red most likely due to the head rush from being upside down for so long.

"Who even carries fourteen of the same trap anyway?!"

Many would call Naruto slow or not bright. That may be true, but never let it be said that he tries the same strategy twice. It was clear to him that Bee was far more skilled than the string of teachers and shinobi that had tried to capture him for his many pranks, granted all of them underestimated him greatly, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Naruto was not the greatest in a lot of thing, but when it came to being unpredictable no one was better than Naruto. So it was only natural that coming up with a unique way to grab the bells from had been was consuming his every thought.

"Eh? What's that?" Naruto thought out loud. Much to his joy, he spotted to bento box sitting unguarded in the stone's shadow. "Ah! There's lunch on that rock!" A wide, cunning grin crossed his face. "Who's gonna look like a sap now Bee-sensei?"

* * *

Gaara calmly did some math in his head, gauging what he knows about his sensei's speed, strength, and skill. From the beginning, Gaara detected that Bee was a lightning affinity user, which allowed him to increase his speed to near inhuman level. Couple that along with the fact that he took on all of Naruto's attacks without so much as a bruise and you can see he also has substantial defense. In his fight with Fu, he showed his pure strength by taking out Fu in one strike. Factoring all that together, Gaara judged that Killer Bee was close to the same level as Baki, the Kazekage's advisor, and a difficult opponent, but not impossible to beat, especially with his own power.

"You're different from the other two I'll give you that, but when you're on your own it will only end in a splat. But even when it's one-to-three, you just no match for the Killer Bee! OOEEE!"

"Silence." Gaara said simply.

A wave of sand rose up behind him surging forward in an attempt to take down the jonin instructor. Killer Bee jumped over the wave and strike down at Gaara with his sword.

"Fool."

Gaara brought up his sand shield to defend when he felt it pierced. He looked to see that the sword was alit with a sparkling blue color.

"What?!"

Realizing what the rapping shinobi was doing, Gaara quickly commanded the sand shield to slice his sensei in half. The sand formed a blade and attempted to strike the Kumo-nin from the side. Bee drew his sword from the shield and destroyed the blade. Once Bee withdrew his sword Gaara threw his sand shield away from him pushing goateed Ninja a good distance back.

"Interesting" Gaara said recalling his sand to him. "You channel your chakra through the blades, increasing the vibration frequency to increase its cutting ability. That matched with your admittedly impressive strength, those swords could pierce a mountain."

"Looks like we're gonna be late." Killer Bee said looking toward the training spot. "Guess I'll use the lucky number eight."

Gaara wondered what he was talking about. He quickly counted his swords, but there were only seven of them. Suddenly Gaara saw Bee's body pulse with red. It was only for a moment, but it was clearly noticeable for a ninja. He then rushed forward at inhuman speed with his right arm out in a hook. Gaara couldn't react in time, but his shield automatically defended him. The Kumo-nin's arm impacted against the shield. It held for a moment but was broken though allowing Bee's arm to ram against his student's chest sending him flying into the tree behind him slitting it in half. Luckily the broken tree didn't land on the Suna-nin. The red head slumped against the ground unconscious.

"I know I softened my hit, but I think I might have overdone it." Killer Bee hummed.

The Kumo Jonin moved to his defeated student's side, touching his neck for a pulse. The jonin couldn't resist smiling when 'Gaara' dissolved to a clump of sand.

"Now that kid knows how to play cause it looks like he got away." Killer Bee said, stroking his goatee in thought. "That's two brats down and one to go. Better go check on Naruto."

* * *

Naruto was smirking like a fool sitting on top of a strange looking stone staring down at the two bento lunches in front of him. He had thought it odd that a strange rock was out here in the middle of a training ground. What was even stranger was that a multitude of names were carved into it. It was hard to focus on that though because Naruto's stomach had taken his brain hostage.

"It's the perfect plan. If I eat the lunch then I won't need to get the bells. Bee-sensei will never think of this." Naruto said, licking his lips.

"You wanna bet?" Bee's voice spoke from above Naruto, causing him to sweat drop.

"Heh… I was just kidding, Bee-sensei."

"Nice try."

* * *

Fu woke up; her head swimming. She shook it to gain her bearings. The last thing she remembered was Bee knocking her for a loop.

Meanwhile Gaara was rising from the ground; a frown on his face, his previous battle still fresh in his mind. Even when examining Naruto and Fu's fights, he was still surprised of Killer Bee's skill. In Suna, he was untouchable, but the ninja from home couldn't even compare to Bee. It was then that he realized the purpose of the Fourth Kazekage sending him here; he wanted him to meet someone strong enough to kill him. He would give him the satisfaction; no matter who he faced, he would not disappear. He rose from his hiding spot in the ground once he sensed Bee was out of range.

Fu looked around groggily from she spotted Gaara, or more specially, Gaara's head. Being a rational young girl, Fu's reaction to this was fairly standard. She screamed.

"AHH! SEVERED HEAD!"

Fu stood up as fast a she could in an attempt to get as far away as possible from the decapitated head of her teammate. However, that only ended up with her running straight into a tree in her haste. She fell down; her eyes spinning in a delirious state.

"Moron" Gaara said as he finished rising from the ground. "Get up. You're making more of a fool of yourself than you already are."

"Oh, you're still alive." Fu commented, blinking away the dizziness. "But your eyebrows are still missing."

"Again with this conversation." Gaara sighed irritably. "I don't have time for your idiotic comments. I've already suffered enough from that fool we call a Sensei." His hand clenched into the fabric of his sleeve. "But now I understand better. I've so close to defeating Bee-Sensei, but I underestimated his abilities. This time, I won't make the same mistake."

"He almost beat that baka!" Fu mentally exclaimed. "I haven't even come close to damaging that perverted teme. At this rate I'll…" But taking note that her teammate had come closer than the rest of them, a plan began to form. "Hey, Gaara, how about you and I team-up and…"

"Never." Gaara answered rather quickly. "I have no use for anyone. I've learned from experience that the only person you can depend on is yourself. And only yourself."

"What are you…?" Fu asked slowly.

"My name is Gaara – A self-loving carnage." Gaara stated monotonously. "I am alone – I've always been alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I will fight only for myself. I will love only myself." His eyes narrowed at the fresh wave of memories crossing his mind. "I will not allow my existence to be erased."

"Gaara…" Fu thought wistfully. "He's just like…me."

Fu felt a sudden kinship with the socially inept teen. It felt like they had similar situations. At first, Fu thought Gaara was just a weirdo who didn't know how to relax, but now that she thought about it she had no idea why he was like that. It sounded like he had been through a lot. True, she didn't have the easiest time either, but from the way he is seemed to be worse off than her. She felt the need to reach and comfort him, whether it was for her or him she didn't know.

Before she got the chance she heard a high pitched ringing from the training ground. Her stomach dropped.

Time was up.

* * *

Gaara and Fu had walked together to the training ground. Fu stole glances at Gaara, too afraid to speak up. Once they arrived, they found Naruto tied to the middle stump and they knew better than to try and untie him with Bee around.

They stood on either side of Naruto, each with their own emotional conflict. Gaara for the first time in his life had felt vulnerable with his shield being penetrated. Naruto was complaining about his harsh treatment. And Fu was facing the fact that she might have to go back to her village only a couple days after her departure.

"Stomachs growlin', eh?" Killer Bee snickered. "But it looks like trainin' is done and the losers goin' back are none."

"You mean...we're not being sent back?" Naruto asked hopefully; Killer Bee nodded. "I knew it! I knew I was too cool to be held back!"

"That's it?" Fu blinked surprisingly. "But I was knocked out for most of the time. Was that all it took?"

"Something's not right." Gaara thought suspiciously.

"Let me say that it's been fun." Killer Bee said. "But your lives as ninjas are now done."

For Naruto and Fu, the world seemed to have stopped. Their lifted spirits had crashed down to earth. This didn't apply to Gaara, who didn't buy Bee's statement until he looked at Bee's stature. Usually when someone bluffed, they had a tell. That's how Gaara had been able to avoid all of his assassination attempts. Bee was a still as a rock; not a hint of misdirection in his stance.

'_He's serious._' Gaara thought with alarm.

"Our ninja lives are done?" Naruto shouted in outrage. "What are you talking about? We couldn't get the bells, but that doesn't mean we should quit!"

"You three didn't think it'd be easy, did ya?" Killer Bee rapped, holding an unnaturally serious expression. "You three don't have what it takes to be ninja. Ya guys are nothin' but fools. Ya couldn't figure out the basic ninja rule."

"Basic ninja rule?" Fu repeated curiously.

"Think about it very carefully." Killer broke his musical tone; he was really serious. "Why do ya think they put Shinobi from different nations into groups of three? If ya knew the answer, then maybe ya could have passed this test."

"Skill trading" Fu suggested.

"Information exchange" Gaara stated.

"Pooling resources" Naruto said remembering the term being thrown around by the Hokage.

"Teamwork" Killer Bee said simply.

The three genin looked confused before Fu and Gaara thought back to the earlier fights and their weakness. Naruto ability to distract the Killer Bee coupled with the fact that Fu could attack from close range while Gaara kept the pressure on from long range and they might've stood a better chance at taking a bell. Naruto, however, remained in the dark.

"Wait? Teamwork?" Naruto asked. "How would that have helped?"

"Each of you have certain strengths. Heck, you three have more potential as a team than most. But you failed to help the others grab a bell."

"Wait!" Fu realized. "The bells! There were only two! That meant that one of us wouldn't get one and be sent back. That was so that we would turn on each other and be uncooperative."

"That's right, little brat." Bee said while Fu pouted at the name. "All the teams have to go through similar tasks to test their teamwork. However, no one's been able past the bell test. Sorry, but you drew the short straw."

"But… but that means…" Naruto said, his heart pounding like crazy.

"That every team passed their test but you three and I can see why."

"But!"

"Naruto!" Killer Bee shouted cause said genin to flinch. "You were so preoccupied with what you wanted that you didn't even consider what your teammates needed."

He then looked over to Fu.

"Brat! You were so obsessed with grabbing a bell that you even willing to sacrifice you teammates to do it."

Finally he turned to Gaara.

"And Gaara! You didn't allow yourself to trust you teammates and refused to accept their strength."

The mint and blonde haired students hung their heads in shame while Gaara's face remained impassive, refusing to allow his frustration to show. If Killer Bee were to be honest, he didn't expect them to pass. Heck, he was surprised they hadn't ended up fighting each like some teams do. This test played on the fears and insecurities of genin, forcing them to choose between victory or people they barely knew. He even protested that these three receive this specific test after studying their personality profiles. However, Kakashi knew that if this team was to have any chance of working together, then they were going to have to pass this test.

Despite this, he had hoped they would be able to relate to each other. Jinchuuriki always have it hard no matter what village they're in. He wished that they could've found some common ground despite not know what the others were. He sighed it was very unlikely that they would pass the final part.

"Missions are done in groups." Killer Bee continued. "It's true that ninjas need well-developed individual abilities, but it's teamwork that's much more important. An individual action that disrupts teamwork will result in danger or even death for the teammates."

"What is the point of teamwork?" Gaara questioned, surprising his comrades" We're not from the same village, we're barely allies. And as I recall, Kumo and Konoha are still enemy nations. Why should we risk our live when we may one day be enemies?"

"That's a problem that every team in this program has to face." Bee said rather sullen. "I can't give you a definitive answer, but sometimes your friends are more important than logic." The rapping Jonin turned his back to the Genin, facing the strange stone Naruto encountered earlier. "Naruto, do you know what this stone is?"

"Um…well." Naruto stammered clueless.

"This stone is carved with the names of those who were praised as heroes in Konoha." Killer Bee answered. "It is a sacred monument."

"Really!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "In that case, I'm gonna have my named carve in that stone! Then everyone will know I'm a hero!"

"These people are…special." Killer Bee stated grimly.

"Oh, what kinda heroes are they?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"They are ninja…" Killer Bee responded slowly. "Who gave their lives for their sake of their friends."

Naruto's smile slowly slid off his face replaced by a look of grief. He bowed his head, suddenly feeling quite meek. These were the true heroes of Konoha the men and women who died protecting their homes and their families from those who sort to destroy them. Naruto ideally wondered if his parents were on there. He was told they died in the Nine-tails attack, but he didn't know if they were shinobi.

Fu stared at the monument. They didn't have anything like that in Taki. People didn't like to dwell on the past. Fu often wondered if that was for the best or not.

Gaara glanced at the monument for a moment before looking away. He wondered if they had something like this in Suna and if they did how many names he caused. For the first time in a long time, he felt something in his heart. It wasn't much, but felt like a small pinch. He remembered what his uncle said before forcing that memory out of his head.

"I had a friend from Konoha." Killer Bee announced; the Genin snapped out of their stupor. "Her name was Kushina. Konoha and Kumo were enemies during the Third Shinobi World War, but Kushina was different. She was loud and violet, sure. But Kushina was the kindest person I had ever met. She saved the life of someone I cared about when I couldn't and I will always be grateful for that." He gently rested his hand against the memorial surface, brushing his finger over one particular name. "Her name was added to this memorial twelve years ago – I never did get the chance to thank her."

"Bee-Sensei…" Fu murmured sadly.

"You know what, I'll give ya one last chance." Killer Bee smiled, doing a complete 180 physically and mentally. "But the move I'll be doin' are much more advanced. Better eat up 'cause we start in twenty, but Naruto doesn't get any."

"Say what!" Naruto exclaimed.

"This is punishment for breakin' the rules." Killer Bee taunted. "It's not my fault you're a fool. But…" Killer Bee loomed menacingly over his students with a vicious expression. "If anyone helps Naruto on any scale, then that person will immediately fail!"

"But…what about teamwork?" Fu asked shakily.

"I'm the one who makes the rules." Killer Bee said lowly. "Remember that, fool."

* * *

The Kumo jonin had left twenty minutes ago, leaving the team. The bentos Bee left wasn't much, but it was enough to get them through the day.

Fu and Gaara sat on either side of Naruto, setting down their canister and gourd down next to them. The three were silent for five minutes before they tried thinking up a strategy to take down their sensei. But they couldn't talk for more than a minute before Naruto's stomach growled in hunger, causing Naruto to blush and apologize. But what could you expect? He was woken up at an ungodly hour with no breakfast, waited three hours, fought a jonin on his own, and was stabbed in the put… okay that last one had nothing to do with hunger, but he felt he should add it to the list of complaints, damn it!

The last thing he wanted to do was be a burden to his team, so he put up a cheery façade.

"Ah, this is nothing." Naruto laughed weakly. "I could go for days without food." His stomach argued otherwise. "So hungry."

Gaara closed his eyes in what seemed to be annoyance before taking his bento off of his lap and holding it out for Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers while Fu wondered if hell had suddenly froze over. Gaara of the Desert, the cold, isolated, eyebrow-less Suna-nin was giving away his food to his less fortunate teammate. Fu had to resist looking up to check for pigs.

"Gaara!" Fu said in alarm. "Bee told us to…"

"I don't sense him nearby." Gaara responded monotonously. "Don't misunderstand my intentions. All three of us need to work together if we are to have a remote chance of facing Bee-Sensei. But we can't do a thing if one of our members is too weak to fight." He pushed his lunch again. "Hurry up and eat, before he comes back."

"I'd like to, but…" Naruto said hesitantly. "My hands are tied up. I can't move."

"Geez…" Fu said exasperatedly as she stood up. Picking out a piece of rice from her lunch, the mint-haired girl held it close for Naruto to eat, the boy's eyes were bugging out at this point. "What? You don't like it?"

"B-but you're…" Naruto stammered. "You're…feeding me."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Fu teased; she winked to reassure him. "Like Gaara said, we can't have you screwing everything up if you're hungry. Now eat up quickly before Bee-Sensei gets back."

Naruto was in shock. He'd never gotten along with people his own age, and now two people he barely knew were willing to sacrifice their careers as shinobi to give him a chance. Maybe… these two… he could one day call his friends. Naruto would have thanked them but they were on the clock. He opened his mouth and Fu placed the rice inside.

As soon Naruto swallowed all Hell broke loose.

The ground exploded and clumps of dirt and grass were scattered everywhere; their poor lunch was now wasted. But that was the least of their concerns as Killer Bee emerged from the wreckage with a pissed off expression.

"You!" He shouted before making several hand signs. "You broke the rules! You know what happens to those who break the rules!"

Naruto looked like he was about piss his pants, Fu had fallen back in shock, and Gaara's eyes narrowed, getting ready for whatever their sensei might pull.

"You got anything to say for yourselves!" Bee said pulling his fist back; immense pressure being felt throughout the area.

Naruto felt immense fear from his sensei, but then he looked towards his teammates. Fu was on the ground, eyes wide with fear. Gaara looked calm, but Naruto noticed the slight quiver in his hands. He thought of how the both of them were willing to feed him even though they knew this could happen. That gave him the courage to speak up.

"I-I'm t-the one w-who was h-hungry, I'm t-the o-only one that n-needs t-to be p-punished." Naruto spoke, his voice shaking.

Fu stared at her teammate. He was loud, obnoxious, and rude, but he was willing to taking the bullet for his two teammates who abandoned him when he needed them. She strengthened her resolve and stood up, eyes defiant.

"Like hell! I was the one who fed him! I should take the blame!" Fu said loudly.

Gaara looked at his teammates, stunned. No one but his uncle had ever helped him, and even he had betrayed him. Why should this be different? How did he know they wouldn't turn on him like he did? He looked at them again. His chest suddenly felt warm.

'But… still…'

"They're wrong." Gaara said calmly while standing up. "It was my idea to fed Naruto. If you're gonna punish anyone, you're going to have to try and punish me."

"So" Bee snarled "That's your defense!"

The three looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement. None of them were getting left behind!

"That's right!" Fu yelled. "We're a team!"

"Well, then I only have one thing to say to you!" Bee threw his fist forward before doing something completely unexpected. His fist stopped right in front of them before putting his thumb up. "You pass." He stated calmly.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"What?" Naruto said unsure if this was real or not.

"You pass." Bee repeated.

"But! But! But!" Fu stuttered, her brain having to reboot. "What do you mean we passed, teme?"

"You broke the rules, which not many people would do." Bee stated.

"You told us that in order to pass we had to follow the rules." Gaara said

"Yes, but a ninja can't fall for obvious trap. The rules I stated contradicted what I told you before. A team needs to stick together. Every ninja team before all followed the rules and failed. You three listened to your hearts and stood up for your friends."

"Friends?" Gaara whispered. "They're my…friends?"

"It's like Kakashi's always sayin'." Killer Bee said. "Those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." He kneeled down close to his student's level. "And now that we're a team, I promise to protect you with these two arms. Because we're more than just a team. We're friends."

"He's…actually kinda cool." Fu smiled kindly. "For a baka."

"Training has ended, you all pass." Killer Bee said, pumping his fist in the air. "Now let's get out there and kick some ass!"

"Yes, Bee-Sensei!" Naruto shouted happily.

Naruto wanted to jump up in the air and scream. He had done it! He had finally become a ninja; all the years of training had finally paid off.

Fu smiled widely. She was a ninja. She would prove her worth finally. She wondered if her dad was watching her.

Gaara remained stoic. While he wasn't happy, he was certainly relived. He looked at his smiling teammates and his heart felt a little lighter.

The three of them left, Killer Bee saying he would treat them to dinner. It was only after they left that Naruto realized they had forgotten about him.

"I knew it was gonna end like this!" Naruto screamed shrilly, kicking his legs like a madman. "Someone come back here and untie me!"

Unfortunately, no one would come to untie him until Fu pointed out they had forgotten something after Bee had paid the check for dinner.

* * *

Naruto walked home and slammed the door to his apartment behind him.

"I can't believe they left me out dry!" Naruto said, kicking his sandals off and walking to his bedroom. He jumped on the bed, lying face down. "Some friends they are!" Naruto turned onto his back looking at the ceiling for a few moments before realizing what he had said. "Friends huh?"

He smiled as he fell asleep.

* * *

Fu made her way to her apartment. It was a three room apartment with a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, shower, and sink. She took her canister off her back and set it near the door. She walked to her bedroom and opened the window. She took a photo off her night stand and sat on the windowsill.

"My first day as a ninja." She said staring at the picture. "Kinda strange, but it ended well." She looked toward the village. "I made some friends today. Bee-sensei is crappy rapper; Naruto's loud especially when he's angry – still feel bad about that – and Gaara still won't tell me what happened to his eyebrows. But other than that I think we make a pretty good team."

She looked out the window and saw the village filled with lights. It reminded her of when she climbed to the top of the Spirit Tree during summer and saw the fireflies. She sighed.

"Well, goodnight, mom."

She gave the photo a kiss and climbed under the covers.

* * *

Gaara, with no reason to go to his apartment, walked the streets aimlessly, replaying the events of today over and over again in his head.

"They're…my friends?"

'_Don't be a fool!_'

"…"

'_You know this won't end well!_'

"I don't … know that!"

'_Yes, you do!_'

"…"

'_You'll be betrayed, like before!_'

"…"

'_The only one you can trust is yourself! The only one you love is yourself!_'

"I know"

The streets were filled with people, but to Gaara, he was walking his path alone.

* * *

Unbeknownst the newly instated Genin, someone had been watching the events unfold from within the forest. And I literally mean within the forest.

At the conclusion of the training, something started expanding and growing shoulders, a neck, a head, eyes, a nose, and hair. By the end of the transformation, a woman's upper-body was exposed to the open while her lower-body was still merged to the tree. Her skin was a ghostly, pale-white with burning-red eyes and a curtain of shoulder-length vibrant-orange hair. The majority of her attire was still concealed in the tree, but the exposed portions showed a black cloak with a distinguishing red cloud. The forehead protector of Kusagakure was tied around her throat, but with a lengthy scar cutting across the steel.

The unusually-pigmented woman hummed to herself in thought.

"Four Jinchuriki in one group." The woman said softly. "This could be troublesome. Suigai-Shishou will want to hear this."

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

"I want to do more exciting missions! Find something else!"

"S-Rank?"

"Ya don't kill the guy you escort."

"The Whirlpool has been gone for a while."

**Next time:**** The Journey Begins! A Vow Made In Blood!**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Note: Alright so I updated a little quicker than last time (Hashtag humble brag/ stealing mattpatts joke) I have to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter and I have to apologize for its late delay. I would also like to thank the guest middlechild274 who has given me many reminders to update. Hopefully all updates from now on will all updates will come this fast. As always all reviews are welcome.**


	6. The Journey Begins! A Vow Made In Blood!

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: I have to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter. Also start of the Wave Country Arc Woo-hoo!**

* * *

**Episode 6: The Journey Begins! A Vow Made In Blood!**

* * *

The forest was silent, an odd occurrence especially for this time of day. Suddenly it was filled with screeched of crows as they flew from the ground in terror, seemingly fleeing something demonic. Four shadowy figures swiftly ran through the forest, making hardly making a sound.

The newly formed team B, consisting of Gaara Sabaku, Fu Nagare, Naruto Uzumaki, and led by Killer Bee, each hid their presence behind the trees; their target completely unaware. Naruto was quite against the idea, saying that the name made it seem like they were second best. He suggested team A, but that was shot down when Killer Bee said they might run into some legal problem with his brother. The three preteen students dashed closer to their target, its back having been turned to them. Gaara put a hand to his ear, talking into his com.

"This is Gaara, arrived at point B, target 10 meters away." Gaara said into his radio receiver.

"This is Fu, arrived at point C, target 7 meters away." Fu answered shortly after.

There was a pause.

"This is Naruto, arrived at point A, target 5 meters away."

"You're gettin' slow, Naruto." Killer Bee heard Naruto grumble over the radio. "Our target is in sight, so you all better get steady. We'll make our move as soon as you're ready."

"I'm ready to go." Naruto answered seriously.

"I am as well." Gaara responded monotonously.

"Same here." Fu nodded.

"Alright, the enemy's in sight." Killer Bee rapped. "Let's get out there and show them our might!"

The three shinobi sprang from their hiding spot with the intent of capturing their target. The sudden noise created the noise they created made their enemies head swing towards them surprise evident on his face, either caused by the sudden appearance of three ninja or the angry battle cry of the one clade in orange. The target started to bolt, but before he could make an escape, Naruto wrapped his arms around its waist, effectively crushing his chance for freedom. The knuckle head ninja grumbled in discontent as he held the objective as far away as possible.

'The demon cat from hell' Naruto dubbed it.

This was the fourth time the same satanic cat had escaped from its master's clutches, and the fourth time team B had to retrieve him. A small part of Gaara had to admire the feline's determination for freedom, even as it proceeded to tear into their team's resident clone specialist's face. The feline and the fox vessel shared a pure unadulterated disdain for each other. Well, the cat had a disdain for all of them, but Naruto was the easiest target therefore he suffered the brunt of the feline's hatred.

The cat seemed to actively make it so that Naruto would never leave these missions without his face intact. Of course, his teammates weren't helping anything. Fu was on the sidelines, laughing her mint green head off while Gaara reported back to their Jonin teacher.

"Does the target have a ribbon on its right ear?" Killer Bee questioned. "Are we finally in the clear?"

"It's the same cat." Gaara deadpanned though it was hard to tell since he always spoke in a monotone. "It's always the same god damned cat."

"You're a team that can't be beat." Killer Bee complemented. "Looks our mission is finally complete."

"Why the hell are we stuck with these crappy missions?" Naruto screamed over the radio. The effect of the outburst not only knocked Killer Bee off his feet, but temporarily stunned Gaara and knocked out Fu. "When are we going to do something exciting?"

Twenty minutes, seven bandages, and a tetanus shot later and team B arrived at Konoha Academy to give in their final report. As standard procedure, the Hokage oversaw the assignment of all missions given within his village. However, Kakashi apparently wasn't given the memo seeing as he was taking more of an interest in his book the latest issue of Icha Icha Paridise.

There to do his job for him was Iruka, irritating everyone in the room except for the women sitting next to the leader. The woman had light brown, pupil-less eyes with soft-violet tied back into a spiky ponytail. Her attire consisted of a tan over coat, a thinly-shaped mesh shirt, a dark-orange mini-skirt wrapped by a dark-blue belt, a pair of steel shin guards, blue sandals, and a thick cord necklace with what appeared to be a snake fang. Like many Kunoichi, she wore the Konoha forehead protector around her head.

Even Naruto was smart enough to recognize Konoha's famous blood sadist and according to rumors Kakashi's girlfriends: Anko Mitarashi. The orange-clad Uzumaki had too many close encounters with her that he wished to forget.

Speaking of which, he and his teammates had completed the mission with the cat relatively unharmed, though in Naruto's case, not for lack of trying. Naruto handed the feline over to the absurdly large wife of the Daimyo's, sending him back to his unending hell of dress up parties and afternoon tea times. The moment her precious cat had been returned to her possession, the Daimyo's wife was literally hugging the life out of the poor cat Naruto snickered under his breath.

"Hah, thank you karma." Naruto smirked

"Holy cow, it's a wonder it hasn't been killed yet." Fu said shuddering at the thought of being in its position.

"That poor cat." Gaara said uncharacteristically. Naruto and Fu both looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. He glared back causing them to turn away and act as if they hadn't heard him.

"Nice work, boys." Anko smiled nonchalantly, stressing the word 'boys'. She knew that Fu hated people pointing out her…lacking assets, which served as good entertainment for the sadist. "And you managed to catch it in less than three hours this time. That's a new record. Now about your next assignment." She ruffled through the papers presented to her, looking down the list. "Let's see…babysitting a noble's son, grocery shopping at a neighboring village, helping dig out potatoes in…"

"Hell no!" shouted a fed up Naruto. "You are not sticking us with any more of these lame missions! Find a better one!"

"I agree" Gaara said, though gave no indication that he actually cared.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Naruto has a point." Fu said, her mouth suddenly feeling funny. "I've had enough of this crap! Catching cats, laundry delivery, cleaning attics! Why does a ninja need to do any of this?"

"Here we go." Killer Bee sighed expectantly.

"Baka!" Iruka exclaimed with authority; Kakashi wasn't paying attention. "You're still just novice ninja! Everyone needs to start with easy missions to gain experience!"

"What kind of experience does catching cats gi- AHH!" Naruto was knocked to the floor by his own teacher. "Bee-Sensei…"

"Cut it out, fool." Killer Bee warned.

"I like this gaki." Anko chuckled. "But I don't think you taught him enough about how the ninja system works around here, Iruka."

"Not for lack of trying!" Iruka defended. "Fine, you give it a shot."

"Gladly." Anko grinned, leaning back on two chair legs. "Listen up, Gaki, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. Mission assignments are a complicated system and are the basis of Shinobi villages. A lot of clients come to Konoha every day. They request missions from babysitting to assassination. On the request list, a variety of missions are listed out in terms of A, B, C, and D depending on the level of difficulty. In some cases, we receive an occasional S-Rank mission."

"S-Rank?" Fu repeated unknowingly.

"That's not important right now." Anko stated, leaning further back into her chair. "Shinobi are also ranked Jonin, Chunin, and Genin depending on their level of abilities. The higher officials assign missions to ninjas with the appropriate abilities. And if we complete a mission, we receive a fee from the client. Since the three of you only became Genin recently, D-Rank missions are more suited for you."

"I had pork ramen yesterday." Naruto told to his teammates, who seemed more interest in the boy's food choice than mission explanation. Anko fell backwards out of her chair. "So I'm gonna have miso ramen today."

"Pay attention, motherf-ers!" Anko screeched.

"Oh sorry." Killer Bee apologized sheepishly.

"Ah, don't lecture me, Hebi-Chan." Naruto frowned. "I'm not the same kid you used to catch pulling pranks anymore."

"I'm gonna get scolded for this." Killer Bee sighed.

Anko's natural response was to stab a kunai up the disrespectful party's ass, which has had varying degrees of effectiveness, but she had to stop herself for two reasons. One: she would get a lecture from Kakashi later and she hadn't perfected her pouty face yet. Two: Naruto had a point. In the last month Naruto has proven a lot of people's expectations of him wrong.

Naruto had proven his strength but graduating from the Academy, and learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu so well that it surpassed anyone else's. He also proved his worth as a ninja by being a part of one of the only teams in history to pass the bell test. She was finally starting to understand what Iruka was talking about the boy was growing up.

Without warning, a sudden snap caused Anko and Iruka to jump out of their seats in surprise. Kakashi had quite amazingly closed his treasured book, focusing on the resented prankster of Konoha.

Anko was, in simple terms, pissed. Usually she could only get his attention after hours of seduction or torture, or both, and this gaki throws a tantrum and he gives him his undivided attention. Oh, he was going to get such a talking too, well after a little fun, of course. Kakashi, oblivious to the fact that his girlfriend was running through a list of her 'toys' to use on him, addressed Naruto.

"If you feel so strongly about it," Kakashi smiled under his mask, "then I guess I have no choice but to assign you a C-Rank mission. Your assignment is to escort a very important client."

"Really?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Really?" repeated Iruka.

"Who? Who? Is it a Daimyo? Or a princess?" Naruto guessed; his imagination running away with him.

"Don't be so hasty." Kakashi said patiently. "I'll introduce him. Can you please come in now?"

To say Naruto's expectations were crushed would be an understatement. Their client was a grey-haired bespectacled man with a moustache that wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, matching pants and a pair of sandals. The old geezer was swaying at the threshold of the door, carrying a bottle of what was clearly alcohol – the guy was drunk.

"What? They're just kids." The old man slurred, downing another pint of liquor. "Hey, is the smallest one with the stupid face really a ninja?"

"Hee Hee! Who's the smallest one with the stupid face?" Naruto laughed.

His teammates sweat dropped before standing to either side of Naruto. From what could be seen, Gaara, even thou being born prematurely, was still barely a centimeter taller than Naruto, while Fu tower over them both by an inch. She was tall for her age; a fact that she was very proud of. At least until someone pointed out that she was still under developed in other areas. After Naruto had caught on, he attempted to deck the man, but was stopped by his rapping sensei.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto screamed.

"Ya don't kill the guy you escort." Killer Bee stated bluntly, lifting the boy off his feet. "It's not our fault you're so short."

"I really like this gaki." Anko grinned deviously.

"I am Tazuna, the bridge building expert." Old Man Tazuna introduced himself. "Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protecting my life while I complete the bridge. I hope I can depend on you, especially the boy in the skirt. He seems like a weird one."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Fu screeched.

"What did I just say, brat?" Killer Bee shouted.

The team all departed towards their respective apartments to prepare for the journey ahead. All except Gaara, who felt that he only needed the sand on his back.

The team and Tazuna departed for the wave country at noon. Having traveled from their own countries to Fire Country, Gaara and Fu were treating this mission like any other. However, Naruto was overflowing with excitement due to this being the first time he'd been anywhere away from the Land of Fire, causing his teammates to give him strange looks.

"All right! Let's go!" Naruto cheered.

"What are you so excited about?" Fu questioned exasperatedly

"Because I've never been outside the village before." Naruto grinned from ear-to-ear, looking around the forest as if expecting anything different.

Fu sighed, though even as she did, she knew that she shouldn't be complaining. After all, she had acted the same way not three weeks ago after she had left Takigakure.

"Hey, will a kid like that really be capable of this mission?" Tazuna asked uncertainly, ignorant to the throbbing vein on the blond's head.

"I'm a Jonin, no need to worry." Killer Bee answered placating the old bridge builder. "Now let's get goin'; we're in a hurry."

"This geezer is the worst client ever." Naruto glared at the old man. "You better listen up you, old fart." Naruto spun around and pointed a finger to the bored client. "Ninjas are strong, and I'm the strongest ninja there is! I'm the ninja who'll one day become Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! The name is Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!"

"Here we go again." Fu said rubbing her temples. "I'm gonna need more aspirin."

Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his teammates antics. He always managed to bring up that topic not matter what they were discussing.

"Hokage is the village's top ninja, right?" Tazuna asked with a lazy expression. "I don't think a guy like you could be one."

"Shut up!" Naruto growled. "I'm willing to go through any hardship to become Hokage! If I become Hokage, you'll have to notice me!"

"I doubt it, kid." Tazuna scoffed. "Even if you somehow become Hokage."

"You…" Naruto snarled.

"Naruto." The blond stiffened, halting under Gaara's commanding tone. "That's enough. Let it go."

The blond Uzumaki was about to do anything but let it go. He silently plotted his revenge even as Bee ordered him to fall back along with Fu probably due to the fact that they would assault the client given the chance. Which… was true, but they still felt insulted by the accusation. Gaara stood in front of the front to act as a first line of defense against any attacks, though from the way he was walking, a person would assume he was off guard. Killer Bee walked behind him, eyes vigilantly searching the trees and bushes for enemies. If he were to be frank, he's been getting antsy; training the kids hasn't given him much of a challenge. Unfortunately, it looked like there wasn't going to be much action as they approached the Land of Fire's border.

"Hey, Tazuna-San." Fu said respectfully, despite her obvious glare. "You said your home was the Wave Country, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Tazuna asked irritably.

"It's just that I've never heard of it before." Fu proclaimed, tapping her chin in thought. "Does your country have a small ninja village? Hoshigakure was a minor village until recently, so maybe that's the case."

"There are no ninja in the land of waves anymore." Bee said with melancholic certainty. "The Village Hidden in the Whirlpools stopped anyone at their door. Their power rivaled the leaf. Anyone who fought them met defeat."

"The whirlpool?" Naruto asked interested.

"The whirlpool was destroyed." Bee said speaking as if this was personal. "But their people were coy. Uzugakure and Konohagakure were close friends; they helped each other out till the very end. They escaped to other villages to save what remained, so their efforts weren't in vain. The islands of wave are hard to control. The nations can't move between them without a toll." He clapped his hand on his female student's head. "Don't need to worry 'cause this is C-Rank mission. We could relax and maybe even go fishin'."

"Aw, I hate fish!" Fu whined.

Killer Bee chuckled as his student puffed out checks in irritation. But Gaara was more concerned over the sudden change in demeanor of their client. Ever since they had crossed the border, he had taken a sudden interest in their surroundings. Gaara had seen enough liars to know that he was hiding something. By the time the team had entered the Land of Waves, Naruto had begun to come down from the excitement he felt about leaving his country. He had thought being in a different country would be different, not the same old boring tree and dirt.

'_Come on!_' Naruto thought. '_I'm going to be Hokage for Pete's sake. I can't do that if I am just going to walk around all day._'

Naruto's plea would soon be heard as Killer Bee subtly spotted a small puddle of water on the side of the road. The others noticed this as well, but only Gaara understood what this meant and prepared accordingly. The sand in his gourd shifted eagerly.

Shortly after they had passed it, two figures suddenly sprung forth from the puddle despite its small size. Both ninja wore black cloak and masks with enlarged gauntlet on opposite hands connected by a chain that seemed to be made of shuriken. The four wavy lines scratched into the forehead protectors exposed them as ninja from Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village.

Their targets seemed to be caught unaware with their backs turned. The two ninja rushed forward, their chain stretched out between them. The team only heard them when they got within five feet, but by then it was already too late. Before the escort team knew what had occurred, the Kiri ninja were standing on opposite ends of the road with their chain constricted around Killer Bee's throat.

"Huh?" Killer Bee said confused.

"First one!" The older Kiri ninja exclaimed.

The Kiri duo ripped back their gauntlets, pulling the chain with extreme force. Fu's hands quickly found their way to her mouth while witnessing her beloved, yet annoying, sensei being decapitated in an instant. It took all her will not to scream out when the headless corpse dropped at her feet.

"B-Bee-Sensei!" Naruto stammered fearfully.

"Second one."

Naruto's body froze up. For the first time in his life he felt true fear. Not the fear of failure, but the fear of losing one's life. Before he knew what was happening, the Kiri-nin was behind him, their shuriken chain already circling him. But before it could cause his certain demise, the chain suddenly froze in midair almost as if stopped by the hand of fate. But the real answer was much simpler than that.

Upon closer examination, the shinobi present saw that the chain was coated in clusters of sand preventing them from skewering the orange wearing knuckle head. Gaara had made his move; the advantage was his. Sending two columns of spiked sand at the enemy, they had no choice but to ditch their weapons and dodge. Once Naruto was no longer in danger, he released the chain, letting it fall to the ground with a clatter.

'Gaara…' Naruto thought amazingly. 'Was he always this strong?'

"Watch out for the Suna kid!" The older of the duo shouted. "He's a dangerous one!"

"I know that!" The younger of the two shouted back. "Go after the bridge builder! I'll take care of the others!"

With their plan set, the younger Kiri-nin rushed toward Naruto, who was still paralyzed in awe at his teammate's power. He attempted to slash his claw across Naruto's face. Naruto only barely was able to stop his strike by raising his hand to block causing it to slash the back of his hand. While this was happening, the other Kiri brother weaved between the blasts of sand coming his way, getting closer to the old bridge builder. Fu took action and stood in front of Tazuna and activated her exoskeleton. But she soon found this pointless as the hitman's head was suddenly slammed by Killer Bee, who had in an instant incapacitated both brothers.

"Yo." Killer Bee smiled nonchalantly to his students.

"Bee-Sensei! You're alive!" Naruto exclaimed from his place on the ground.

"I thought so." Gaara said, his sand flowing back into his gourd. His ringed eyes had noticed the supposed corpse turn into a split log a few moments after Bee-sensei had supposedly died. "He saw the puddle on the side of the road despite the fact that it hasn't rained in two weeks. He used the Body Replacement Jutsu. The same one he used on Naruto a couple weeks ago. He hid his presence and waited for the enemy to strike so he could catch them off guard."

"Sorry for not helpin' ya a while ago." Killer Bee apologized, more to Naruto than the others. "But I didn't think ya would be scared, Naruto. But ya really should have been more alert 'cause now it looks like you're hurt." He turned to the remainder of his students. "You two were good in combat. Even you, ya little brat."

"Like you would know!" Fu growled while deactivating her exeskeleton. "I didn't even get a chance to show off!"

'I…couldn't do anything.' Naruto thought angrily. 'But Gaara and Fu were able to handle them like it was nothing. They weren't afraid at all. They acted like real ninja while I was stuck whimpering on my knees. It's not fair!'

Gaara stared at Naruto and then at his hand. His eyes soften, but only a bit.

"Naruto… you should go home. We don't need you getting hurt." To people who knew Gaara, that would have been the closest thing he'd shown to concern in years. But Naruto, who had only known the red haired genin for three weeks, considered it an insult.

"Gaara…" Naruto scowled.

"Naruto!" Killer Bee shouted, causing the boy to stumble. "I don't mean to rush, but there's poison in that gush. The poison's in your hand so we better hurry, unless you want your vision blurry."

"What?" Naruto flinched.

"We have to open up your wound and leech the poisoned blood." Fu explained seriously. "I have some skill in medical ninjutsu, but only on how to close the wound. We'll need to find a professional doctor so he can extract the poison. Try not to move so much or the blood will dig deeper into your systems."

"That in mind." Killer Bee was seriously, breaking off his musical tone. "Tazuna, we've got somethin' to talk about."

"W-what is it?" Tazuna stammered nervously.

"These guys aren't just random ninja." Killer Bee stated, referring the Shinobi assassins as he tied their unconscious forms to a nearby tree. "They're Gozu and Meizu, the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. They're Chunin that abandoned their village six years ago and became acting mercenaries for the highest bidder."

"If you knew that…" Tazuna questioned. "Why did you let the kids fight?"

"If I was up to it, I could have killed them in the blink of an eye." Killer Bee explained. "But I needed to know who their target was."

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked worried.

"What I mean is this…" Killer Bee said crossing his arms. "Those two went for you specially, meaning that they were hired to take you out. In your mission request, you said that we would only be facing thieves and bandits." Tazuna hung his head in shame. "A mission with other shinobi dictates at least a B-rank, maybe even an A-rank. I know you must have your reasons but we can't complete a mission without all the details."

"This mission is out of our league." Fu nodded. "We should quit while we have a chance. Since Kirigakure is closer, we should stop by and get a doctor to remove the poisoned blood in Naruto's hand. The Mizukage could pass the mission on to a more capable group of ninja."

"Hmm." Killer Bee hummed, looking over his blond student. "It's a bit out of the way, but we don't have a choice. Let's head to Kiri."

Naruto was more than a little upset about today. He was upset that they had a crappy client, he was upset about the fact that he was about to fail his first C-rank mission, but most of all he was upset with himself. The second he had encountered real danger, he had frozen up and been a burden to Gaara and Fu. And now the mission was about to be stopped because of him.

'Damn it! Why am I so weak?' He looked at his hand and was reminded of all the times he had come in dead last of every test, every person, and every trial that had told him he was a failure. 'I won't stand for it anymore!'

Moving too suddenly for his team to stop, Naruto whipped out a kunai and plunged it deep into his wounded hand. Fu put her hand to her mouth, Tazuna looked at him like he had lost his mind, while Gaara felt his respect for the blond raise a couple notches.

"Why am I so different…?" Naruto moaned. "Why am I always…Damn it!"

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Fu scolded.

"I should be stronger." Naruto spoke with a constricted tone. "I've accomplished lots of missions and practiced techniques every day. I'm never going to do something that requires someone to help me. I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things. I'm not going to lose again." He raised his bleeding hand for all to see. "I vow to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with my power!" He flashed a brave smile to the group. "I never go back on my word. That's my Nindo – my ninja way!"

"Hmm." Gaara hummed absently.

"That kid." Tazuna thought admirably.

"Naruto…" Fu was awestruck feeling as if she had witnessed something important; her copper-tan checks tinted with red.

"Naruto, it's nice that you took out the poison so spiritually." Killer Bee rapped. "But if you lose any more blood, you'll die. Seriously."

The scene froze as if someone had stopped the clock to prolong this moment and, almost comically, a small wind blew through as though it wanted to witness this event. Naruto and Team B were silently staring at one another; the blond was sweating a waterfall. None too surprisingly, the Uzumaki children started running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

"AH! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Naruto screamed shrilly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Fu exclaimed angrily. "First you act tough, and then you turn into a loser! I can't believe I actually thought you were cool!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Naruto cried.

"Get over here and let me heal you, baka!" Fu commanded.

"This is going to be a long trip." Gaara sighed.

In the heart of the water country was a forest always filled with mist so thick that it is said it can even hid you from the eyes of the gods. Back when the Hidden Mist Village was still called the Bloody Mist, they threw their genin in here to see if their senses were honed enough to survive. Some say that there are still genin wandering the forest in search for a way home.

Within the canopy of the trees was a large structure so big that one could wonder how the trees supported it. Within one of the many spacious rooms, a short little man in a wealthy business suit was escorted by a pair of formidable looking samurai. The runty man looked very displeased, baring his teeth to the young man lounging on the couch across the room.

His opposition was a thin young man barely in his teens with pure-white hair that held a blue-ish tint, deep-amethyst eyes, and a row of pointed teeth. His attire was a rich-purple, sleeveless shirt, a pair of grey cargo pants, a pair of brown sandals, and a black belt holding various water bottles around his waist.

The teenaged warrior yawned in boredom, having listened to the shrimp for a half-hour now.

"So explain to me again…" The business man glared; trying to look intimidating… it didn't work. "…why I spent a good fortune on a supposedly elite team of ninjas when they can't even kill an old fool of a bridge builder?"

"Stop complaining." The teen waved uncaringly. "I'll let Zabuza-Senpai know what happened and he'll just kill the old man in no time."

"You seem confident." The business man said suspiciously. "I heard that the bridge builder hired some really strong ninja for protection. And since the Demon Brothers failed in their assassination, they'll be more cautious now. It won't be easy."

"Have you forgotten who you're talking about?" The teen flashed his sharpened teeth. "Zabuza-Senpai was called the Demon of the Hidden Mist for a reason. He'll get the job done or my name isn't Suigetsu Hozuki."

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

* * *

"If they attack, they'll send a Jonin instead of a Chunin this time."

"Are you really a ninja? I thought Konoha Shinobi were supposed to be the best. Their reputation is a little exaggerated."

"I didn't expect to see you here."

"Uh…What's a Jinchuriki?"

**Next time: Sink or Swim! The Demons in the Mist!**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Notes: ****I'm sorry this took longer than last chapter but hey it's out fast than the chapter before. Anyway, as always all reviews are welcome and encouraged. By the way, was anyone surprised to find out that Fu was exactly how Zero the Leech made her? If you haven't seen the latest episode of Naruto, go and be surprised with us. See ya.**


	7. Sink or Swim! The Demons in the Mist!

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: Sorry this took longer than last chapter but hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner.**

* * *

**Episode 7: Sink or Swim! The Demons in the Mist!**

* * *

Through the stories told to children and their own keen senses, the four jinchuuriki and bridge builder were put on edge by the completely consuming fog the surrounded them. It was so thick that they could help think of the tales of oni monster like creatures with horn that could either bring bad or good fortune.

Fu had never been to Kirigakure, but if she had to guess, she imagined that the mist would be of a similar quality. Tazuna had had the foresight to rent a boat out beforehand. They made sure to ride with the motor off a move some would consider too cautious but the earlier encounter with the demon brothers had shown that in order to complete this mission they couldn't take any chances. Whoever hired those two couldn't have been happy, and was bound to retaliate in some way.

Tazuna took the back with the ferry man while Bee took the whole middle leaving the three genin crammed in the middle. This left Naruto in quite the precarious situation as he had to make sure he didn't touch Fu on penalty of being punched and making sure not to touch Gaara on penalty of being murdered. They rode in uncomfortable silence for about an hour until Tazuna finally spoke up.

"We should be able to the bridge soon." Tazuna said with a distinct feeling of pride. "If we move along the side of the bridge, we'll be at Nami."

How he was able to tell in such choking fog was anyone's guess, but sure enough, after a minute, they saw a dark outline of a structure standing across the water. If one didn't know any better you would think it was a land mass due to the sheer scale of it. By the time they finally made it to the bridge it completely dwarfed them with its monstrous size. The genin's respect for the old man grew knowing that anyone in charge of a project of this scale must be important. The pillars holding the new road alone were equally higher or even higher than the wooden barricade guarding the Konoha. The bridge itself must have been half-a-mile wide and the length of the road couldn't be determined from this distance. And to imagine, they were only halfway finish by the time Nami chose to hire Shinobi.

"It's huge!" Naruto shouted excitedly, causing the others to jump and nearly tip the boat.

"Quiet, baka!" Fu scolded as softly as possible, fisting him over the head for good measure. "We're using this boat and hiding in the mist for a reason. That's why we're rowing instead of using the engine. Any careless noises could alert enemies of our presence."

"That's something ya oughta know, Naruto." Killer Bee rapped; Naruto hanged his head in shame. "Tazuna-san, there's one thing we need to get straight and I don't think we have the time to wait."

Tazuna remained silent under his gaze. "We need to know who it is and why they're after you. Otherwise, me and the kids are through."

The three teens zeroed in on the elderly bridge builder who had suddenly become very fidgety. Tazuna looked toward his feet obviously weighing his options. The shinobi had proved skilled… well at least three of them did. They also seemed dedicated enough that they wouldn't just cut tail and run just because the mission parameters had changed. Though in the end there wasn't much of a choice, if he refused to talk he would be left with no protection.

"It looks like I'll have to tell you the real story." Tazuna sighed. "I mean, I would like for you to hear my story. As you said, this mission is most likely out of your job description. An extremely terrible man is after my life."

"A terrible man?" Killer Bee repeated. "Tell us what ya can?"

"I'm not sure a man from Kumo would know him." Tazuna stated seriously. "He's marine transport billionaire Gato."

"Gato?" Fu parroted, leaning closer to the old bridge builder. "As in the owner of the Gato Company? One of the richest men in the world, Gato?"

"You know him?" Gaara questioned.

"He did some shady dealing with Kakuzu, a Missing-nin from my village." Fu replied steadily. "He's supposed to be one of the wealthiest men alive and is the owner of his own marine transport company. But in the underground world, he uses gangs and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband goods. He's not one to be trusted as he gained a reputation of double-crossing his partners. That's how Taki managed to capture Kakuzu again."

"He deals in more than just illegal exports." Tazuna said grimly. "He also does nasty jobs to take over other companies and smaller countries. A year ago, he set his sights on Nami. He entered this country using violence and wealth as his shield and he quickly took over the islands sea traffic and transportation. On an island like Nami, controlling the sea means controlling the wealth, politic, and the people of this island. And the one thing Gato is afraid of is the completion of the bridge that has been under construction."

"So when you started making this bridge you posed a threat to his operation." Gaara said who for once looked mildly interested.

"So he was the one who hired the demon brothers." Fu stated.

"Goin' 'gainst Gato would make a big fuss." Killer Bee stated. "Why did ya leave it out when ya came to us?"

"Nami is a poor country." Tazuna answered mournfully. "Back in the old days when the Uzu Islands existed, we used to share in the wealth. But nowadays, even the Daimyo doesn't have enough money to spare. We don't have the money to request a B-Rank or above mission. If you quit your mission after I land, I'll be killed for sure while I go home." Without warning, he put of a tearful expression. "But there's no need for you to blame yourselves. Only my cute eight year-old will cry, wondering where his dear old granddad is. And my daughter will hold a grudge against ninja and live a lonely life. But it's not your fault."

"I don't believe this." Fu sweat-dropped."He's using guilt against us! ...Clever."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped ." Killer Bee shrugged, scratching his cheek embarrassingly. "A ninja has to work with the hand he's been dealt. We'll continue to escort you, 'cause that's what we ninjas do."

"Thank you, kind sir." Tazuna smiled dramatically. "Sucker!"

"Maybe I should just kill them; it'd save a lot of trouble." Gaara seriously considered.

Before Gaara could make a decision concerning the homicide of his teammates he was distracted by the shadow looming over head. They had passed under the bridge causing the mist to thin. On the other side they entered a tunnel hidden by a couple of trees. They held their breath as it would be very for an ambush team to be on the other side. As soon as they reached the mist had cleared almost as if it was never there to begin with. The team sighed in relief when they docked on shore.

Unloading on the dock, the Genin took the opportunity to view the Nami village settled across the lake before them. It was very small in comparison to the villages and the walls looked very dirty, but the water was sparkling-clear – not even Taki was this clean. Killer Bee had somehow been tricked by Tazuna to pay the ferryman, having excused this because he had claimed to have lost his wallet. Gaara spotted said wallet in the back of the bridge builder's pocket, but he didn't feel the need to point this out. Once taking his fare, the boatman started up the motor and raced out of there faster than Choji at a barbecue – he was brave, not stupid.

"We'll be going on foot from here." Tazuna explained. "Get me home safe and sound. Can you at least do that, squirt?"

"You…" Naruto growled.

"Naruto…" Fu leered warningly.

The orange Genin looked down like a child being scolded but complied with the greenette's demand. Like before the team was formed in the basic escort position with their guide, Tazuna in the front their strongest ,Gaara and Killer Bee, in the middle and their weakest ,Naruto and Fu, for rear support.

When asking why they chose this formation, Gaara explained that he and Killer Bee would be the quickest to defend, leaving the other two an opportunity to counterattack. Of course, he only said that to satisfy them. The real purpose was to keep Gaara closer to Tazuna in case anyone got near. His abilities were the most flexible and had the greatest defense rate of the group – he was the final wall between Tazuna and death.

The group started their path through the open forest, keeping their eyes open for any signs of movement.

"If they attack, they'll send a Jonin instead of a Chunin this time." Killer Bee hummed thoughtfully. "They better be better than good if they want a shot at Lord Killer Bee."

"This won't just be about you." A deeper voice scolded. "Gaara is strong enough, but you still have Naruto and Fu to worry about."

"You worry too much." Killer Bee replied confidently. "They'll be fine."

"How are you still alive?" The other voice sighed.

But there was a reason to be worried. Unbeknownst to Team B, a tall and lean Shinobi was watching from the branches of the higher trees, giving no sound for the enemy to detect. He possessed misty-pale skin with short, spiky, black hair and dark-brown eyes following the children. He wore navy-blue striped pants, mimetic arm and legwarmers, blue sandals, and single black belt, and a good number of bandages wrapped around his neck and the lower half of his face. The forehead protector of Kirigakure was placed sideways on his head, but held a long scratch cutting across the face, symbolizing his defection from his village. But the most peculiar and intimidating sight was the sword strapped to his back. It was quite possibly the largest broadsword any of them had ever seen with its appearance altered to resemble a great butcher knife having a circle cut out on the tope and a semi-circle near the handle.

The man's hands twitched on the handle of the severing sword, examining the Shinobi that was clearly the leader of the escort group.

"Seven swords, bull horn tattoo on his left cheek…" The man mentally checked. "No wonder the Demon Brothers failed. They wouldn't have lasted long against an opponent like him. Kumogakure's Hachibi Jinchuriki, Killer Bee. Facing a Jinchuriki is difficult enough, but facing one with complete dominance of his Bijuu is another. The only person strong than him is the Sanbi Jinchuriki: Lord Mizukage." His grip on the blade momentarily tightened. "When faced against an opponent that powerful, going one-on-one is suicide. That's why you need a strong strategy."

The trip through the forest was rather uneventful after the first ten minutes. According to Tazuna, his home was only a twenty minute hike through the trees and past the miniature lake. Killer Bee and his more knowledgably students were extra cautious while walking around the bed of water. Since the Demon Brothers were from Kiri, the opponent's had elemental affinity for water. Unfortunately, Naruto spent too much time glaring at Gaara's back to care. He was still angry over his teammate's performance in the last fight calm and powerful. He was making Naruto look bad in front of Bee-Sensei and Fu. The only positive side was that Sakura-Chan wasn't around to see his own cowardly nature.

"Gaara thinks he's so cool." Naruto grumbled. "I'll show him. I'm not gonna let him have all the good parts this time. Next time around, I'll show everyone that Naruto Uzumaki is…"

"Boo!"

"AAH!"

Consequently, that was Naruto screaming in his most girlish tone as he stumbled backwards and smacks the back of his head against the dirt. Everyone looked back to find the orange-clad prankster rolling around in the dirt, holding the sore spot on his head and muttering a string of unpronounceable words. They shook their heads at Naruto's stupidity before looking over to the source of their latest interruption.

Apparently, a boy around the Genin's age with white/blue hair was hiding in one of the lower branches and swung upside-down to scare the Uzumaki boy. The unknown preteen laughed heartily as he flipped out of the tree back to the ground, standing over his victim.

"Ha! This is the so called elite ninja from Konoha." The Boy said cackling his sharp teeth on display. "Real intimidating, I'm shaking in my boots!"

"That doesn't count!" Naruto snapped, scrambling to his feet. "You just caught me by surprise!"

"That's the last thing a ninja needs to do, baka!" Fu said a tick mark appearing due to being once again embarrassed by the blonde. Naruto hung his head in shame while Fu stood facing the possible enemy hand in her weapon pouch. "And who are you supposed to be? What do you want?"

"Oh, I'm Suigetsu." The white haired ninja said pointing his thumb to his chest. "I'm traveling around the world, looking for something very important to me. I was walking by when I saw you guys. The guy in orange looked kinda stupid, so I couldn't resist." Ignoring the angry outburst from said baka, Suigetsu looked between the differently branded forehead protectors between them. "Hey, none of you guys are from the same village? What gives?"

"That's because we're special." Naruto beamed. "We're in the…"

"Naruto!" Fu shouted her only warning before her fist slammed down the orange ninja's noggin. "Shut up big mouth we're not supposed to reveal that!"

"Fuuuu…" Naruto whined while rubbing his head.

'_Maybe I should put some poison in their drink… no, too much evidence._' Gaara contemplated before detecting footsteps too heavy to be a forest animal's heading in their direction.

Killer Bee had also noticed it he stopped when Fu put Naruto and Suigetsu in a headlock, screaming something about boys and her chest. You have one guess to figure out what it was.

Suddenly a _whooshing_ sound was detected by Bee's and Gaara's keen ears. They looked in that direction before seeing a flash like the sun glinting off a reflective surface. Instinctively, Bee hit the deck pulling the genin and bridge maker down to the ground with him as a great carving knife twirled across the air above them while Suigetsu jumped out of the way. Gaara, feeling no danger, stood in place and waited for the sword to come. Just before it hit the red head's sand shield, which as always, came to his defense the sand absorbed the impact of the sword catching it before throwing it towards a tree to the side of the road rattling the plants and its branches.

The sand slowly crawled back to its secure storage; Gaara glared in the direction of the blade.

"So you've finally appeared." Gaara said monotonously. "I was beginning to get impatient."

The Kumo Jonin stood in attention to their attacker, much to the relief of the preteens that learned to breathe once more. Once catching their breath again, Team B took notice of the sword wielder that had taken his position on the handle of the great carving blade with his back turned to the team.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Killer Bee said casually to the assailant. "We must be a real threat for you to appear. You tryin' to stop us with that big fancy sword, but I'm tellin' ya we're movin' forward."

"Oh yes, that's definitely him." The mystery assassin glared at the rapping Shinobi, but occasionally glanced in Gaara's direction. "And it looks like he has a student. The Suna kid must be considerably strong to deflect Kubikiribocho without moving. He's an interesting kid – I can smell the blood running off him in waves." His eyes flickered to the other preteens. "Them, on the other hand, won't be a problem."

"A new enemy is here." Naruto grinned eagerly. "This time, Gaara's not gonna steal my thunder."

"Hey, man, what the hell is wrong with you?" Suigetsu snapped. "You nearly took my head off! Who do you think you are, anyway?"

"Ya might want to hold on to your skin." Killer Bee forewarned. "Cause this guy is Zabuza, the Missing-nin. He was famous as one of the seven swords, but goin' against the Mizukage was more than he could afford."

"Will you cut the crappy rap already?" Fu exclaimed rudely. "I can barely understand a word your saying!"

"Little brat…" Killer Bee mumbled darkly.

"I don't really know what's going on, but who cares." Naruto thought earnestly. "This is my chance to make my mark."

"Naruto." The orange-clad blond stumbled and landed face-first in the ground due to Gaara's interruption. "It would be best if you stayed back. This man isn't like the enemies we encountered before – he's on a completely different level."

"Huh?" Naruto was clueless to the worry undetectably laced in Gaara's words. Not for his life but for the life of his teammates.

"Even men in Sunagakure have heard of the Infamous Zabuza Momochi." Gaara stated emotionlessly. "He goes by the moniker 'The Demon of the Hidden Mist'. But more importantly, he was one part of the most famous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist – a group of highly trained Shinobi that specialized in the art of Kenjutsu." His eyes travel along the lengthy blade. "His sword is Kubikiribocho – the Decapitating Carving Knife."

"Decapitating…" Fu gulped.

"Not only strong, but intellectual as well." Zabuza smirked under his bandages. "Of course, I would expect nothing less from one who was chosen to be the student of Kumo's Hachibi Jinchuriki."

Killer Bee didn't even have to see his student's reactions – they were pretty clear in his mind. Gaara's formally stoic expression was now wide-eyes with his mouth open, looking genuinely stunned. Fu clapped her hands over her mouth at the mention of the word 'Jinchuriki' and suppressed a shocking gasp behind her palms. Naruto, however, was a clueless as ever.

"Uh…" Naruto said causing his teammates to look at him. "…what's a Jinchuriki?" Naruto asked.

The question was so idiotic and so mood shattering that, thou Gaara would later deny it, both genin fell down in exasperation.

"BAKA!" Fu screeched, pounding him over the head. "How could you not know what a Jinchuriki is? The Mizukage is famous for being the only Jinchuriki to take the title of Kage!"

"Really? Is he strong?" Naruto asked innocently; the girl pounded him again. "Ow…"

'_I know Kumogakure had come into possession of two Bijuu in the past._' Gaara's pondered; his mind racing over the facts. '_That would explain why he was able to cause me to retreat, but I never would have expected Bee-Sensei to be one of them. Jinchuriki are supposed to be hated and lonely, but he is always acting so carefree and wild. Is he…really the same…as me?_' The emotional stress from this revalation was causing the insanity inside of Gaara to claw at the edge of his mind. Gaara gripped his head in pain. '_Damn it, not here!_'

"Judging by the kid's expression, I'm guessing you never told them." Zabuza said amusingly. "I'd love to stick around for story time, but I've got a job to finish. So if you don't mind, I'll be taking the old geezer."

"Naruto, Fu!" Killer Bee shouted, snapping the duo out of their stupor. "I'll leave Tazuna-san to you. Gaara, back me up if you can. If I ever need help, I know you're the man." Gaara shook his head pushing down the last of his madness before nodding.

"Hey, why does Gaara get to…?" Naruto was cut off by the Kunoichi pulling his ear.

"Shut up and do what Bee-Sensei says." Fu scowled, dragging the poor blonde over to their charge.

Zabuza watched as the orange brat and the minted haired crossdresser took their position in front and behind the elderly bridge builder. Naruto was in the back giving him full range of the field his job obviously to intercept any attack thrown at the old man while Fu would then provide support. The red headed demon sent half of his sand to circle around him while the other half was feed into the ground. The leader of Team B reached both hands behind his back, stretching his fingers around all the handles of his seven swords. Suigetsu was just standing in the middle of the road, not having any clue what he was supposed to be doing. Zabuza grinned knowingly beneath his mask – this was going to be good.

"Everyone ready?" Zabuza chuckled. "Let's have some fun."

"You wanna have fun, that I can agree." Killer Bee smiled arrogantly. "Cause now you'll feel the sting of the Killer Bee! OOEEE!"

"You still suck!" Fu added.

"Brat…" Killer Bee mumbled

Thrusting his hands skyward, the Kumo Jonin launched all seven of his narrow swords to the air above them. Everyone watched with interest as the needle-tipped blade were pulled back to the ground by gravity, wondering what would happen next. Killer Bee flexed himself momentarily before catching all seven swords, but not with his hands. In an interesting turnabout, the rapping Shinobi grabbed the sword handles with both his elbow joints, one at his left armpit, one in his mouth, one in his right neck joint, one between his stomach and one at his right leg.

Given a full view, he resembled something close to a contorted porcupine – Fu developed a twitch in her eyes. But while others seemed to take this stance as a joke, Zabuza knew this was no laughing matter. His eyes narrowed with focus, watching Killer Bee hop around on one foot for a minute before catapulting himself to the next. The Hachibi Jinchuriki spun around with his blades pointed outwards like a spiked ball, giving no time for Zabuza to defend. So instead, the Demon of the Mist kicked his signature blade by the handle to dislodge it from the trunk while taking to the sky himself.

The Kiri traitor barely had enough time to flip over the crazed sword-user before he collided with the tree, shredding the trunk into six separate pieces. But Killer Bee was a master of his blade for obvious reasons. During the landing, removed the two swords from his shin and stomach and transferred them to his hands, which he tossed in Zabuza's direction in midair. Unfortunately, the Missing-nin was just as skilled, snatching Kubikiribocho out the air by the handle and twirling it around for a temporary shield to ward of the narrow weapons.

His first attempt failed, Killer Bee kicked off the remains of the fractured tree, twirling around the air to catch his swords by his ankles, all the while jabbing for swords at his enemy. Instead of using the surface of the blade to defend, the former Swordsman used the hole at the end of his decapitating knife to hook one of the Jinchuriki's swords. All he needed was a slight tug and Killer Bee was thrown off his rhythm, relinquishing the two swords on his ankles. Once the rapping Jonin's back was to Zabuza, he almost saw an opportunity to attack. But that was before he realized Killer Bee had intentionally tossed his wayward swords, waiting until the dropped back with a good opportunity to take out both of Zabuza's arms.

The former Swordsmen quickly caught on and pressed his foot against the Kumo-nin's back, propelling him out of the sword's path. When all was done, Zabuza and Killer Bee were standing on opposite sides of the path with two of the Kumo-nin's swords standing between them.

"What…just…happened?" Suigetsu gaped amazingly.

"They were moving so fast, I couldn't even catch them." Tazuna said honestly.

"Was I the only one that saw that?" Fu wondered. "His stance is ridiculous, but Bee-Sensei's moves are flawless. He moves in rapid succession without leaving a single opening, even for an experience swordsman like Zabuza. And even if it looks like he's messing up, he has a backup plan waiting." Her eyes sparkled with admiration. "Bee-Sensei is…so cool!"

"Hmph! I'm not too arrogant to admit it." Zabuza proclaimed in a low tone. "But you are one of the greatest swordsmen I have ever had the pleasure of killing. I'll be sure to tell everyone how you had the honor of going all-out with me."

"If ya think I'm goin' all-out." Killer Bee rapped confidently. "Then you don't know what you're talkin' 'bout. What they'll be talkin' 'bout cross land and sea is how you lost to the Hachibi Jinchuriki!"

The rapping Shinobi exploded forward like a cannonball, leaving a large impression of his feet in the ground. Killer Bee curled himself into his buzz saw motion across the grounds, taking up the remaining two swords between them. Zabuza nearly hesitated, but managed to force his muscles into actions and barely raised Kubikiribocho in time. When the blades had crossed, Killer Bee had all seven of his narrow swords sparking against the bladed edge of the Mist Sword. Killer Bee knew he had the advantage.

During his routine, the Hachibi Jinchuriki had pumped his lightning chakra through the swords to increase their cutting power. Any moment now, Kubikiribocho would be broken into multiple pieces. Oddly enough, the narrow swords didn't cut through. Zabuza smirked. Lifting his foot against the flat edge of his sword, the Missing-nin pushed the Kumo Jinchuriki away from him. While being thrown backwards, Killer Bee had unintentionally thrown six of his signature swords away, scattering them across the path. The stupefied Jonin held his ground against Zabuza, carrying only one blade between them.

"Now this is somethin' new." Killer Bee said thoughtfully. "Why didn't my swords cut through?"

"You think you're the first lightning-user I've encountered?" Zabuza stated, holding Kubikiribocho horizontally for them to observe. "This sword's greatest weakness is also its greatest strength because it can be broken in and also assimilate different metals making it strong and more resistant in elemental attacks. A couple years ago I found a special metal in Suna that repels electricity and absorbed it into Kubikiribocho."

He shouldered the sword, digging further into his thoughts. "I had originally intended this for that whore, Sukimono Ichigo, and her thunder swords, but it seems to have matched up all the same. Still…" His gaze wandered past the Genin, staring directly at Tazuna. "I do have a job to finish."

With his blade still resting firmly on his shoulder, Zabuza performed a single hand sign with his free hand. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But then, the fog that they had encountered earlier in the sea began rolling in through the trees, seemingly originating from the nearby lake.

Gaara could feel the familiar waves of killer intent washing over the area. But this time, it didn't belong to him. Naruto and Fu tried their best to stop fidgeting, but it was rather difficult when the mist was becoming thick enough to shroud the surrounding forest. Oddly enough, Suigetsu only eyed the mist with a curious interest. It wasn't long before Zabuza Momochi disappeared from everyone's sight.

"I've read about this before." Fu thought; her eyes snapped left and right constantly. "This is the Hidden Mist Jutsu that Kirigakure is famous for. It provides perfect cover by stopping the enemy's vision."

"According to the Bingo Book…" Gaara analyzed. "Zabuza was a member of the ANBU Black Ops that specialized in the Silent Killing Technique. They say that if you were ever caught in his mist, you were dead without ever realizing it." He ushered the sand around him, making sure it wasn't damp due to the misty air. "The sand will defend me and Bee-Sensei is more than capable. That only leaves…"

"Oi! Fu!" Naruto shouted, causing Tazuna and the girl to jump slightly. "What's going on? Where'd this mist come from?"

"Be quiet, you baka!" Fu screeched. "If you make too much noise, Zabuza will find us!"

"Uh…but you're making noise, too." Naruto pointed out.

"TEME!" Fu screamed furiously; Naruto scrambled behind the bridge builder.

"Will you two keep it down?" Tazuna requested in a hushed tone. "Maybe if we wait right here, Bee-san and that Gaara kid will save us."

"Too late for that."

The escort team froze Zabuza was behind them.

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

* * *

"You're nowhere near my level!"

"Trying to find your way through the jutsu is impossible."

"Hiyo, Eight-O."

"I won't stop until I save Fu-Chan."

**Next time: Live or Die! The Ultimatum!**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Notes: ****Sorry about the huge Gap between this chapter in the last but hey at least it's smaller than the last gap right heh heh. Anyway as always all reviews are welcome and encouraged. Also question Now that the games are out and we all know how Fu fights in the games would rather she fight like that or still learn lightning release? See ya have a nice day.**


	8. Live or Die! The Ultimatum!

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: Sorry this took two months I'll try to update faster yada yada you know the drill.**

* * *

**Episode 8: Live or Die! The Ultimatum!**

* * *

The mist was getting thicker by the second. It was almost to the point where a person couldn't see their own hand in front of their face, which was not a good sign in terms for Team B. Naruto and Fu were forced to go back-to-back with Tazuna the Bridge Builder sandwiched between them. They had lost sight of Bee-Sensei immediately after the haze rolled in and Gaara went missing shortly after – they weren't really concerned about the Suigetsu guy.

The mint-haired Kunoichi was sorely tempted to activate her full-body Exoskeleton in fear that Zabuza might suddenly jump out and severe her head clean off. When a guy carries a sword called the Decapitating Carving Knife, it tends to have that effect on people.

"Oi! Fu!" Naruto shouted, causing Tazuna and the girl to jump slightly. "What's going on? Where'd this mist come from?"

"Be quiet, you baka!" Fu screeched. "If you make too much noise, Zabuza will find us!"

"Uh…but you're making noise, too." Naruto pointed out.

"TEME!" Fu screamed furiously; Naruto scrambled behind the bridge builder.

"Will you two keep it down?" Tazuna requested in a hushed tone. "Maybe if we wait right here, Bee-san and that Gaara kid will save us."

"Too late for that."

For many a ninja that voice was the last thing that they would hear from this world. Unknown to the young Genin, Zabuza had a Sadistic little habit of terrifying his prey before slicing them in half. When people asked him about it, he said that the blood had more potency in it when the victim was scared beyond their wits. It looked like it worked because all three of the group had frozen faces displaying shock and horror at the Demon of the Mist that had suddenly silently appeared right in the middle of the escort team crouching down and his sword slung over his shoulder.

The demon looked on with some amusement as the team tried to pointlessly duck out of the way. Though Zabuza had seen enough victims to know that it was no use they would be dead before they even realized it. Despite its great size, the Demon of the Mist swung the sword with such speed and dexterity that it might as well be a regular sword.

Suddenly the sword stopped mid-swing. It was so abrupt that it took Zabuza a second to realize what had happened. He had felt the impact but no cut, Zabuza looked at Kubikiribocho and saw that it had indeed hit the opponent in the chest in fact (Which was extremely flat for a girl by the way) but the girl was holding the giant cleaving in place completely unaffected by the bladed edge.

Zabuza was completely baffled though before he could ponder it, he was thrown back by a steam of sand. He flipped back onto his feat as soon as he was reunited with the ground. Analyzing the situation he was close enough to pear through the mist and saw that the girl's skin had turned a glossy black color which was what he assumed had stopped his blade. He also saw that the red head from earlier had reappeared and the sand was now circling around him.

"I'm impressed." Zabuza said staring down his opponents. "Not many people can stop Kubikiribocho once let alone twice." Fu deactivated her exoskeleton. "I must admit your team's defensive skills are rather advanced but I am curious as to how you found me in the mist."

"It was when you began your initial attack with the Kubikiribocho earlier." Gaara explained monotonously. "The Sand Shield deflected your sword, but also imbedded small traces of the sand in the blade's edge. Each grain of sand contains a small fragment of my chakra that I am able to summon at will."

"So you followed the trail of chakra back to me." Zabuza said interestingly. "You're the first person to ever capture me in the Hidden Mist, but…" He swiped at the sand that once again struck at him. "You're still a hundred years inexperienced."

"No matter what you try, you won't be able to get past my ultimate defense." Gaara said, confident in his abilities.

Zabuza smirked. "You're right. with my current arsenal it would be very difficult to kill you. However, you're not my target."

Gaara glance back at the old bridge builder that was on the ground quaking for a moment. However, that was enough to leave an opening for an attack. As soon as Gaara looked back at the enemy, he was greeted with the sight of Kubikiribocho flying at him. Though this caught him off guard. The sand went to defend Gaara automatically like always forming a shield that deflected the sword high into the air.

Zabuza prepared for his initial attack to fail jumped high over Gaara's shield to catch the blade's handle before using an axe swing in an attempt to cleave the Tazuna in half. Fu, seeing the rogue Kiri-nin's target, jumped in front of the old man activating her exoskeleton and crossing her arms above her head, catching the blade between them. Zabuza tried to force the blade down but was surprised by the Taki-nin's strength.

"Damn it" Zabuza cursed. "You're more annoying than I thought."

"Tazuna-san!" Fu shouted seriously, not really knowing which direction the bridge builder was. "Run now! We'll try to hold him off as long as possible!"

"O-Ok!" Tazuna stammered somewhere in the mist.

"You're going to hold me off." Zabuza said in a slightly amused tone. "Don't make me laugh. I don't know what kind of jutsu you used to stop Kubikiribocho, but…" Without warning, the masked swordsman drilled his heel into the Kunoichi's stomach before she had the chance to activate her Exoskeleton. "You're nowhere near my level!"

No one could see where she went, but the dull thud in the background indicated that she might have hit a tree. Zabuza was starting to lose his patience. He had already been delayed three times, all by a different member of the escort team. He needed to get the job done and soon. But unfortunately, just like the Hidden Mist Jutsu clouded his opponent's vision, it also blinded Zabuza as well. However, Jonin of the Kirigakure were all trained to overcome this weakness by listening to the sounds around them. Zabuza closed his eyes, allowing the environment to speak to him. Killer Bee was still stumbling around in the mist, the Kunoichi was recovering, and Gaara had disappeared completely he must be stationary. The masked assassin almost caught Tazuna's footsteps until they were dominated by a certain obnoxious blond.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Zabuza snapped his eyes in surprise, suddenly finding himself surrounded in a sea of orange. The former Ninja Swordsman was taken back that the boy knew such a high-level jutsu in the first place, but the sheer number of clones produced itself through him over the top.

"Ten, twenty, thirty, thirty-six, forty…" Zabuza mentally counted, his eyes scanned the terrain. "Fifty. This little brat created fifty clones. Fifty shadow clones for that matter. That kind of technique equally divides a user's chakra between each of the clones. This kind of reserve can only be compared to the Fourth Mizukage." He scoffed, hefting Kubikiribocho onto his shoulder. "Looks like I stumbled onto an interesting group."

"Listen up, you shirtless weirdo!" Naruto shouted confidently. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it when I become the next Hokage!"

"You're a bit stupid for a ninja." Zabuza said coolly. "But if want to test your strength, then go right ahead." He swung Kubikiribocho outwards, able to hold the heavy blade in midair without shaking. "You're about to find out why the call me the Demon of the Hidden Mist."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the misty field, Killer Bee had lost track of Zabuza and had stop moving completely. He knew Zabuza's signature technique required sound waves, a flaw that the Fourth Mizukage informed him of during one of their many encounters. But while he was more than a match for the former Ninja Swordsman, his students were the main concern.

"Now I'm just getting pissed." Killer Bee rapped. "I can't see a thing through this freakin' mist."

**"Trying to find your way through the jutsu is impossible."** A deep voice growled in the Jonin's head. **"The Mizukage already warned you about that."**

Next thing he knew, Killer Bee's environment transformed from a misty haze to a pitch-black zone. But while the surroundings had changed almost dramatically, the Kumo Jonin had almost expected this, leisurely laying back on the nose of the Hachibi no Kyogyu – the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox. The demon resembled something close to an ushi-oni with its upper body shaped like a bison's with human-like hands and it's lower body divided into eight octopus tails, hence its name. The Hachibi had four horns on its head the lower left appeared to have been cleanly sliced off. The giant ox's white, round eyes followed the rapping Jonin resting on his nose, sending an almost disapproving expression.

"Hiyo, Eight-O." Killer Bee greeted casually. "Ya come to hear another song, or is there somethin' wrong?"

**"It's about Zabuza."** Hachibi sniffed. **"Of the two of you, you are clearly the superior in terms of strength and skill. But it takes more than that to succeed. The true key to victory is a good strategy."** Killer Bee said nothing, looking solemn. **"Zabuza knows this and was prepared to use the Hidden Mist Technique against you. He knows that while you're distracted, he'll have the chance to move in and kill the bridge builder."**

"And the brats." Killer Bee said seriously. "And I'm not cool with that. Yo, Eight-O, mind lendin' a hand. I know a clever beast like you always has a plan."

**"The Mizukage explained the strengths and weaknesses of the Hidden Mist Technique."** Hachibi explained exasperatedly; the fool needed to pay attention more. **"The thickness of the mist is controlled by the amount of chakra kneaded into it. A larger chakra could interfere and cancel out the jutsu."**

"Is that so?" Killer Bee smirked. "Then ya don't mind helpin', Eight-O."

**"What about the children?"** Hachibi questioned. **"Zabuza already told them that you were a Jinchuriki. If you use my chakra, you'll be confirming it. There's no telling how they'll react to this knowledge."**

"We both know why I was picked for these three." Killer Bee nodded, crossing his arms in all seriousness. "The best we can do is hope they can trust me."

* * *

At the moment Zabuza wondered if this was what he was reduced to. Swatting flies. Orange, loud, annoying flies. That was what it felt like as slaying the knuckle head ninja's clones was equivalent to annihilating gnats. Though the blonde had overwhelming numbers, the pure skill that Zabuza fought with overwhelmed the number opponents he faced. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck, startling him.

"Ha! Now I got you tem-." Before the clone could even finished his sentence he was stabbed in the gut by Zabuza who quickly reached in his pocket pulling out a kunai and piercing his opponent. Despite how quickly he dealt with the threat he was impressed that he was able to get a jump on him.

'If he wasn't such a moron he might make a decent ninja.' Zabuza thought

After slaying all fifty clones only the real Naruto Uzumaki was left slumped on the ground, shaking like a leaf. He wanted to be recognized for his greatness, but even the Kyuubi Jinchuriki knew it was suicidal to go against the Demon of the Mist. Very slowly, Naruto attempted to crawl backwards as quietly as possible away from the assassin. That plan quickly went downhill. In the next instant, Zabuza was crushing the boy's lungs under his foot Kubikiribocho was stabbed into the ground close to his head. The Konoha Genin was beyond scared. This guy, a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was really going to kill him.

"Eight different ways." Zabuza said darkly, much to Naruto's confusion. "The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart. Eight different ways to kill you. Some of them painless, some of them agonizing. Now…" He ripped the enlarged butcher knife out of the ground, holding it directly over the boy. "Which one will I choose?"

"This can't be happening…" Naruto panicked. "This can't be happening…"

It had seemed that Zabuza had selected his point and slashed the blade's edge across his collarbone. And then…he stopped. Just centimeters from beheading the Uzumaki boy and his hand just halted in mid-swing. Naruto didn't question it – he was just happy to be alive. The pressure on his chest disappeared and the Kubikiribocho moved away as Zabuza stepped over the orange-clad Genin, staring intently into the mist. Naruto tumbled to his hands and knees, wondering why the infamous Demon of the Mist had stopped.

And then he felt it. Though Naruto he was regarded as a dead-last dropout, even he could sense the enormous amount of chakra rolling over battlefield in massive waves. The effects were visible with the mist parting as if blown away by a giant fan. With the haze cleared, everyone could see each other again. Gaara stood to the left of the road with his Sand Shield active, Zabuza carried his blade on his rough shoulders, and Naruto had pushed himself to a kneeling position. Tazuna and Suigetsu were missing along with Fu – she must have led them to safety. But on the opposite end of the field across from Zabuza was Killer Bee, but with a very noticeable difference.

A shroud of blood-red chakra rolled over his already hulking form, shaping itself into claws around his hands and horn above his head. And behind the rapping ninja, swinging in an animalistic manner, were three pure chakra tails. Needless to say, the striking appearance had its effect on everyone.

"Is that Bee-Sensei?" Naruto thought curiously. "What happened to him?"

"Zabuza was telling the truth." Gaara shuddered in the wake of his teacher's immense power. "A Jinchuriki. This is the true power of a Jinchuriki. A power just like my own."

"Unbelievable…" Zabuza murmured with wide eyes. "No one has ever broken through the hidden mist. What…are you…?"

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a Killer Bee." Killer Bee rapped confidently. "You're dead, fool, cause I'm the eight-tailed Jinchuriki! OOEEE!"

The Demon of the Mist had faced many dangers, but this man held the power of the very founder of the world and even Zabuza knew he couldn't defeat him. His odds of escape had shrunken and his odds of completing his mission was even less than that. But he still had one card left to play.

The Bijuu-powered Jonin launched himself forward, completely shattering the ground beneath his feet. Zabuza snapped out of his stupor at the last second, giving him barely enough time to strengthen his defense. The former Ninja Swordsman pushed the bladed edge of Kubikiribocho ahead with his hands pressed firmly against the flat side. The Hachibi Jinchuriki held out his arm, meeting the Mist Sword with his bicep.

"LARIAT!" Killer Bee howled.

But despite the sharpened edge, Kubikiribocho couldn't break the Jinchuriki's skin. Quite the contrary, Killer Bee seemed to be pushing his enemy back with strength alone. The Kubikiribocho shuddered under the pressure of the two colliding forces until…it snapped. It literally snapped in two. The head of the great Decapitating Carving Knife was thrown skyward and disappeared into the dense forest. But quickly his damaged weapon, Zabuza leaned backwards just enough so that Killer Bee's arm glided just over his face.

The Hachibi Jinchuriki skidded to a halt a few feet away from the former swordsman, turning in a full circle in preparation for his next strike. But by the looks of it, a second charge might not be necessary. The proud Demon of the Mist was down on his hands and knees, panting heavily with sweating running down his brow. The broken fragment of Kubikiribocho lay at his side uselessly. He could always repair it later but in the heat of battle and without a major source of blood it might as well be just a chunk of iron.

"It seems that I underestimated your little group." Zabuza said his mind working overtime to think of all possible solutions to this problem. "Even if it was you I didn't think you capable of breaking one of the seven swords of the mist."

"That's right; I broke your little tool." Killer Bee mocked. "And now you're gonna die, ya fool."

"Someone's going to die, all right." Team B and the Kiri assassin turn down the road, finding Suigetsu holding Tazuna in a chokehold with a kunai pointed to the old man's face. "What's wrong, Zabuza-Senpai? Getting slow in your old age?"

"Old man!" Naruto exclaimed.

The Suna Genin attempted to manipulate the Sand Shield to protect the bridge builder, but knew that the grains wouldn't make it in time. The traitorous Suigetsu flashed the sharp tip of the kunai and stabbed downwards to meet with the old man's forehead. But upon making contact with the skin, Suigetsu's weapon shattered into multiple fragments. Everyone froze. The white-haired teen blinked at the broken remains of his weapon before looking back at the elderly bridge builder, who shot a smirk to him. Without warning, Tazuna exploded in a cloud of white smoke, causing Suigetsu to stumble back a short distance. When the smoke cleared, Fu struck a pose with her tongue sticking out mockingly and flashing a victory sign.

"Gotcha!" Fu cheered.

"What the?" Suigetsu gaped. "What happened to the old man?"

"I knew you were working for Zabuza." Fu said, winking knowingly. "It seemed like a big coincidence that you just happened to show up before Zabuza. You're a terrible actor because I knew you weren't scared of Zabuza when he first appeared; you even acted like you knew him. But the biggest give away was how you reacted in the mist."

"He didn't react at all." Gaara commented, drawing his sand back.

"Exactly" Fu nodded. "It took me a while to figure out his real plan. Zabuza was supposed to distract Bee-Sensei while Suigetsu secretly killed off Tazuna-san in the background. When Zabuza kicked me earlier, I transformed into Tazuna-san and switched places with him so that Suigetsu would catch me instead." She giggled with a wicked smile. "You totally screwed up, baka. I'll bet Tazuna-san is already safely on his way home."

"You think you're so smart, you flat-chested bitch." Suigetsu sneered.

"TEME!" Fu screeched.

You could punch her teeth out, rip out her hair, and tear out her eye, but when you call Fu flat-chested, you're already dead.

Activating the Exoskeleton on her fist, the mint-haired Kunoichi performed a spectacular right hook that glided across Suigetsu's face. But in the brief moment of contact, the white-haired teen's head literally exploded against Fu's fist, splattering everything within five feet. There was no blood and his body was still standing, but it was still rather terrifying. The mint-haired Kunoichi who performed the deed was visibly shocked and stammered horrifically.

"Oh my god!" Fu exclaimed fearfully. "Oh my god! Oh my god! I killed him! I didn't mean to, I swear! Oh God! I'm a murderer! I'll turn into a criminal and have my face in every bingo book from Iwa to Kumo!"

"Fu, shut up." Gaara said coolly; Fu stared at him in disbelief. "Look."

The redheaded sand-user was pointing back to Suigetsu's decapitated form, which Fu reluctantly returned her gaze to. In an astonishing twist, droplets of crystal-clear water were leaking from the wound between the shark-toothed teen's shoulders.

At first, the others believed Suigetsu had performed a Water Clone Jutsu until they noticed the water starting to take form again. The flowing waters formed a grinning mouth, and pair of amethyst eyes, and finished with a cascade of white hair. Suigetsu was leaning closer to his female assaulter, acting like nothing had happened.

"You…you're…" Fu spoke in amazement.

"Cool trick, huh?" Suigetsu flashed a demonic grin. "Look what else I can do."

Taking advantage of the girl's stunned character; Suigetsu quickly slapped his palm over the Taki Kunoichi's face. The shark-toothed teen displayed his unique power as the whole of his left arm transformed into a flow of water and molded itself into a sphere around her head. Fu gasped – bubbles escaped her mouth – and instinctively threw her hands up against the side of the water barrier.

This proved to be a critical error as her hands slipped through the surface of the water bubble and was unable to pull out again. In one last desperate bid for freedom, the mint-haired Kunoichi raised her foot and slammed it through Suigetsu's chest. Unfortunately, that was taken in a literal sense. The white-haired teen allowed his prisoner to slip her foot through his body and closed around her ankle to restrict any movement. It was official – she was screwed.

"What the hell?" Naruto screamed. "What are you doing to Fu?"

"Ya like it?" Suigetsu grinned devilishly. "This is my clan's special technique: Hydration Jutsu. Our whole bodies are made of water and we can switch from solid to liquid state any time we want. And right now, this bitch is trapped in my personal Water Prison Jutsu." Naruto growled and took a step closer, but was quickly stopped on Suigetsu's command. "One step closer and the bitch drowns. I'm filtering air through my pores, but I could cut her off any time."

The orange-clad Genin tightened his fist to the point where he was ready to break skin, but didn't move in fear for his teammate's safety. Killer Bee expression was hardened, which only enhanced the beastly nature of his Jinchuriki cloak. The Kumo Jonin looked down at Zabuza on his knees and back to his only female student. She might piss him off and they may argue constantly, but he wouldn't wish any harm to Fu. So the muscular Shinobi recalled the malevolent chakra back into him and raised his hands in surrender.

The only one who hadn't made a move was Gaara the sand continued to encircle him. Once realizing that they now had the upper hand, Zabuza collected himself as he returned to his full height, gathering the broken remains of Kubikiribocho. Despite a couple of setbacks, Zabuza's contingencies left him with the advantage. He was quite hesitant to bring the hozuki defector to this mission, but, in the end, it was the right choice as without him, the mission would've failed.

"Good work, Suigetsu." Zabuza complimented. "I may have been wrong about you after all."

"That means so much from you, Zabuza-Senpai." Suigetsu returned, sounding almost sarcastic.

"Since we now have the advantage, you'll listen to our demands." Zabuza stated to the Jonin leader. "Our mission is simple: kill the bridge builder. There doesn't need to be any unnecessary casualties. In return for delivering us Tazuna, we will return your student unharmed."

"Aw, really?" Suigetsu whined. "I wanted to have some fun with her."

"I won't agree to those terms." Everyone snapped their heads to Gaara surprisingly. "Why should we bend over backwards because you have one prisoner? Go ahead and kill her. And when you do, there will be nothing to stop us from slaughtering you."

"Such a heartless kid." Zabuza chuckled. "He reminds me of myself when I was little."

"Gaara, what are you saying?" Naruto asked confused. "Fu's in trouble. We have to help her."

"She is a Kunoichi." Gaara stated simply. "She understood the risks of accepting this mission."

"But…"

"A ninja is a tool made to defend their village." Gaara recited with vindication. "For the sake of the mission and for the sake of the village, a sacrifice must sometimes be made. That is why Shinobi must kill their emotions and be willing to surrender their comrades when necessary."

All of a sudden, the Sand Shield formed a wall around the Suna-nin's left side. In that short period of time, Naruto had cross the distance between them and attempted to punch Gaara upside the head. He had forgotten the sand's power to protect him, but that didn't matter to him. His ears were ringing as the righteous anger welled up deep inside his heart. His left hand was bleeding from brushing against the dry grains. That hand, Naruto saw, was the same one that he stabbed to swear in his vow. The same hand that Fu had taken the time to bandage.

* * *

**Flashback**

The Demon Brothers were tied to the tree and Killer Bee was interrogating Tazuna on more information concerning the mission they had accepted. Gaara stood separated from the group, eyeing his teammates with some interest. It took some effort, but Fu had managed to calm down her knuckleheaded teammate long enough to have him sit down.

The Taki Kunoichi had used her basic Medical Ninjutsu to treat any infections and was bandaging the closed wound as a precaution. What confused Naruto the most is that she seemed to be smiling the whole time. Wasn't she just scolding him a minute earlier?

"You really need to take better care of yourself." Fu said kindly. "You can't go around stabbing yourself every time you get cut."

"Sorry…" Naruto mumbled an apology.

"I know I should be angry at you right now." Fu stated. "But the truth is…I'm kinda jealous of you."

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head.

"You're always so confident at what you do." Fu smiled sadly. "Even when everything is going against you, you don't give up. You just keep trying harder until you succeed. That's not something I would have done." She lowered her head, hiding her eyes from view. "I've always gave up when things got rough I didn't really believe in myself. Until I met her."

"Who?" Naruto asked curiously. This was the first time he heard about Fu's past and he wanted to know more about her teammate.

"I'm sure you'll meet her someday." Fu laughed lightly. "She kinda hard to miss. She loud, rude, and always has to get her way. Whenever she visited, she always made sure to look out for me. I looked up to her; I wanted to be like her. So I promised myself that I would be an excellent Kunoichi and so I can face her properly. But…things haven't been going good so far."

"But you're already strong!" Naruto exclaimed insistently. "You nearly beat Bee-Sensei!"

"That's because he wasn't trying to hurt me." Fu excused. "No, I'm still nowhere near as strong as her. But I guess I can live with that for now. Because…" She lifted her head, showing a genuine smile. "I know I can count on you and Gaara to be with me."

* * *

**End Flashback**

Thinking back to that time – seeing Fu truly happy – the very thought of abandoning her drove him over the edge. How could his own teammate just decide to let the enemy kill one of their friends? If it wasn't for the sand separating them, Naruto would have beaten the crap out of the redhead.

"You want to sacrifice Fu?" Naruto spoke in a low, monotonous tone. "You just want to leave her after all that she's done for us? Is that really all we mean to you?"

"Fu is a Kunoichi." Gaara reply coolly. "And as such, she needs to be used properly. It is the law of the ninja world."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted angrily. "Don't talk about her like she's some kind of tool. She's our comrade; our friend! She looks up to you and you're willing to abandon her?" The Suna-nin said nothing as Naruto contained himself enough to a low growl. "Do you remember what Bee-Sensei said during our test?"

"Hmm" Gaara hummed silently.

"Those who break the rules are scum." Naruto seethed. "But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. I'm not going to be remembered as the bastard that left his friends behind to save his own skin." He removed his hand from the Sand Shield, allowing his teammate to recall the grain to the gourd. "I don't care what you do, but I'm not going to let them take her."

"They'll kill you, you know." Gaara proclaimed.

"I never go back on my word." Naruto answered sternly. "That's my Nindo. I won't stop until I save Fu-Chan."

"Fu-Chan…" Gaara repeated questionably.

The antisocial Genin couldn't help but stare at his knuckleheaded teammate. He was a curious creature. He was stupid, useless, and completely helpless when it came to battle. But even so, he never backed down who would risk his life until the very end. Looking back to his female teammate, Fu was still struggling to free herself from Suigetsu, who seemed to find the blond's speech rather amusing. Zabuza Momochi was standing a short distance away from their teacher with the broken half of Kubikiribocho in his hand. Killer Bee could easily take them out, but Zabuza would more likely intercept him long enough to kill his student. That left Naruto and Gaara as the best chance to save her. But the question was, would Gaara complete the mission or save his teammate…no, his friend. The voice inside his head screamed at him telling him that he was a demon and would always be alone, but when he saw Naruto's face, he decided for the first time since he was six to not listen to it.

"You have a plan?" Gaara questioned seriously, stepping up to his teammate's side.

"You bet I do." Naruto smirked mischievously. "Better hold on cause things are about to get wild."

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

* * *

"You got captured way too easily! What kind of a man are you?"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, NARUTO!"

"We're going to use the Sunaarashi Formation."

"Ultimate technique?"

**Next time: Game Changer! The Unpredictable Ninja!**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Notes: ****Sorry once again for the wait but hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon.**


	9. Game Changer! The Sandstorm Formation!

**Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

**Author's Note: I'm back. And I'm in a bunker so you can put you guns down you'd be wasting your bullets. Nothing else to say but here it is! Once again I welcome all rants, flames and criticisms.**

* * *

**Episode 9: Game Changer! The Sandstorm Formation!**

* * *

The natural mist of Nami was slowly creeping its way back into the forest, providing almost the perfect cover for the newcomer to observe undetected. Standing in one of the tall trees, concealed by the veil of vapor, was a masked figure relatively equal to Fu in terms of height and body structure. The only visible trait under her mask and clothing was the inky-black hair that was gathered in a white bun holder and the two locks framing her face. Her attire consisted of a moss-green, striped turtle-neck sweater with matching pants, a green-blue short kimono with white edges, a green-brown obi, light-brown sandals, and blue-green nail polish on her pale hands. Clearly the most unique feature about her was the porcelain-white mask with red wavy designs over the mouth and four wavy lines on the forehead – the symbol of Kirigakure. The masked woman rested her hand against the trunk of the tree, piercing through the approaching fog with her steely gaze.

"It would seem thing have taken an interesting turn." The woman hummed thoughtfully.

* * *

Back on the battlefield, everyone was waiting in anticipation for the next move. Zabuza, carrying the broken segment of Kubikiribocho, was the only thing standing between Killer Bee and his students. The rapping Jonin would have just bulldozed the former Ninja Swordsman of out his way, but the current condition prevented him from doing so. Suigetsu had demonstrated the Hozuki clan's unique Hydration technique and Fu was presently trapped inside his miniature version of the Water Prison Jutsu. The only reason she hadn't suffocated by now was because the shark-toothed teen still had use for her. That just left her two teammates to handle the situation. It took much convincing, but Naruto had managed to convince his sand-wielding comrade to rescue the girl.

"You have a plan?" Gaara questioned seriously, stepping up to his teammate's side.

"You bet I do." Naruto smirked mischievously. "Better hold on cause things are about to get wild."

"You guys are bluffing." Suigetsu called out. "Take even one step closer and the flat chested bitch sleeps with the fishes. And that's in a literal sense."

"The brat is right, ya got to go." Killer Bee warned. "They're too much for ya, Naruto."

"Forget it, Bee-Sensei!" Naruto answered stubbornly. "We're a team! There's no way we're going to abandon our friends that easily!"

"That kid can be a pain in the ass." Killer Bee thought, showing a small smirk. "But ya could say he has Minato's brass."

'_It's not just Minato's influence that drives him._' The Hachibi added. '_Haven't you noticed it? He's not the same little boy that was charging ahead without thinking. He's taking your teachings to heart and is prepared to fight for it. I think we're about to see a completely different Naruto._'

'_Maybe…_' Killer Bee hummed.

The sudden rush of footsteps pulled the Kumo Jonin from his thoughts and swiftly raised his only remaining sword to his defense. The narrow blade sparked against the hollowed edge of the broken Kubikiribocho, much to Zabuza's dismay. The masked swordsman forced the clashing swords out of the way, giving him an opening for a winding kick to the Jinchuuriki's face. Killer Bee stumbled away from the initial shock and kneeled with his sword being used as support. The Hachibi Jinchuuriki had got distracted and left himself wide open; something he had never done before. He must have been more worried about the kids than he thought. The muscular Jonin shook his head and returned to his attention full, intending not to let Zabuza get the best of him. Speaking of whom, the former Ninja Swordsman had used his opponent's momentary reprieve to weave a set of hand seals.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" Zabuza shouted. Just as the technique was named, ten copies of the Demon of the Mist formed from the nearby lake, surrounding the Jinchuuriki. "There's no denying that you're strong, Killer Bee. This is the first time my blade has been damaged to such an extent. But you have one fatal weakness: you care about your students."

"Why ya always got to chatter." Killer Bee rapped nonchalantly. "I don't get how that matters."

"Placing too much faith in one person will dull your own strength." Zabuza proclaimed within the sea of clones. "I'm sure you've been around long enough to hear about Kiri's graduation exam."

"I knew the exam that used to exist." Killer Bee frowned. "Back when Kiri was called the Bloody Mist."

"It took place before the Fourth Mizukage was inaugurated." Zabuza explained. "When children started in the academy, they were assigned into teams of three just like your students. They laughed, cried, and ate from the same table. They formed emotional bonds during their years together. But when the graduation exam arrived, friends that had bonded together were pitted against one another in fights to the death. Those who were exceptionally skilled were prime candidates for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

"But the Mizukage put an end to it at last." Killer Bee grimaced. "Especially after what happened to the last class. One hundred students were ready to deploy, but they were all killed by one little boy. That was little boy was the straw and we all know it was you, Zabuza."

"That…sure was fun." Zabuza chuckled darkly. "Your villages are dripping with hypocrisy. You continue to bolster your power for the sake of peace. But peace can never exist, because if it did than the idea of shinobi would be gone. A long as someone wants to live someone else has to die."

"Ya think you're better cause ya work alone." Killer Bee said with new found confidence, flipping his only sword in hand. "But those kids have something ya don't."

"And that is?" Zabuza questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Teamwork." Killer Bee answered before charging in.

Back with the younger generation, Suigetsu narrowed his eyes in suspicion at his opponents. The blond knucklehead was leaning close to the redhead, whispering something behind his hand. They were seriously gonna try for a rescue attempt, were they? He had the girl – he had the upper hand. Then again, the guy with the gourd didn't seem to hold any affection for the flat chested bitch, so that may end up being a problem. A minute later, the whisker marked Genin pulled away from his teammate.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Gaara asked with uncertainty.

"Just trust me on this." Naruto said insistently, taking a step closer to the enemy. "We're definitely going to get Fu-chan back."

"But the question is whether you'll still be alive afterwards." Gaara mumbled in a low tone.

"Hey, dumbass, didn't you hear me?" Suigetsu called in a sadistic tone. "Any closer and the bitch goes under. Not even you are stupid enough to – well, you might be stupid enough. But you're insane if you think you're saving her."

"We're not the one that gonna save her." Naruto replied with a foxy grin.

"Huh?" Suigetsu blinked in confusion.

"Hey, Fu-chan!" Naruto shouted, garnering the Kunoichi's attention. "You got captured way too easily! What kind of a man are you?" Even from this distance, the blond knucklehead could see the veins bulging in his teammate's forehead. "Oh, sorry, I might to say girl! It's kinda hard to remember when you have a chest as flat as cardboard! And what's with that hair? It's like someone chopped lettuce and dumped it on your head!"

"Naruto…" Fu muttered softly.

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "Hey, kid, I think your pick up lines need work."

"Here we go." Gaara said monotonously, calling his Sand Shield to action.

"Ok, why do I feel like I just missed something?" Suigetsu scratched his head. All of a sudden, his prisoner started struggling against her restraints, threatening to throw him off balance. "Whoa! Stop moving, bitch!"

"I'm gonna kill you…" Fu murmured before exploding into a savage rage. "**I'M GONNA KILL YOU, NARUTO!**"

With her anger granting untold strength, the mint-haired Kunoichi ripped her foot from Suigetsu's chest, splattering water across the dirt. The shark-tooth teen tried to keep his water prison secure around the girl's hands and head, but was slowly losing his hold. But the effort was fruitless once Fu activated his signature Exoskeleton, ripping the walls of the aquatic sphere apart. Suigetsu, barely dodging a swiping kick from the enraged Kunoichi, flipped backwards away from the Genin squadron. The Taki Kunoichi had caused extensive damage with her outburst, meaning it would take much longer to reshape his body. Then it was rather fortunate that she was charging in the opposite direction, leaving a trail of dust and dirt in her wake; she was seriously pissed.

Meanwhile, Naruto pumped his fist into the air in celebration. The first step of his plan had worked and Fu was free. But the blond knucklehead forgot to take his teammates rage into account. Once she was close enough, she focused all of her Exoskeleton strength into her left fist, drilling her knuckles into the side of Naruto's face. Gaara had never been happier to have the Sand Shield protecting him or he would join Naruto in the ten foot pit that just formed.

"Fu, that would kill a normal man." Gaara deadpanned, … or just stated; it's hard to tell with him.

"You #$%^&amp;* teme!" Fu grabbed her woozy teammate by the collar and literally slapped silly. "You think that's funny, huh? Maybe I should do you a favor and turn you into a woman! Ya like that?"

"Fu-chan…" Naruto mumbled incoherently.

"Fu, that's enough." Gaara stated sternly, earning a glare from the heated Kunoichi. "I understand your anger, but you'll have to put it aside for the time being. Now that you're free, we can move on to the second stage of Naruto's plan."

"Naruto has a plan?" Fu blinked surprisingly, looking back at her half-dead teammate.

"Yes, and it's surprisingly good." Gaara nodded. "It's a two-part scenario. The first step was for Naruto to draw out anger so that you could break free without us risking your life in the process. Now that you're here, we can move on to the second step."

"And the second step is?" Fu questioned, meekly helping the blond Genin back to his feet.

"We're going to use the Sunaarashi Formation." Gaara replied.

"The Sunaarashi Formation?" Fu repeated surprisingly, suddenly being pulled back in her memories.

* * *

-**Flashback**-

It had been the day after the team had passed their Genin Exam and Killer Bee had taken it upon himself to call them Team B. Naruto was still arguing over the name change, but the Jonin wasn't budging. The newly formed Team B were standing in the middle of the training grounds that they had visited the previous day, officially declaring it their team training area. Killer Bee was working with some new rhymes that he had just added to his notebook, much to the irritation of the three Genin lined up in front of him. The rapping Jonin finally snapped his book shut, catching his student's attention.

"You three handled like a dream." Killer Bee rapped; Fu restrained herself from insulting him. "Now it's time for your first day as a team. First we'll learn about cooperation and then I'll teach ya some team formations."

"Team formations?" Naruto asked excitedly. "That sounds really cool!"

"It is really cool." Killer Bee nodded. "So pipe down, ya fool. Ya all have your special skills, but it can quickly go downhill. When you three use your skills combined, I'm sure you'll do just fine." He opened his notebook once more, ruffling through the pages. "I've got a trick that'll work for you three. I call it formation Sunaarashi."

"The sandstorm formation?" Gaara questioned exasperatedly.

"Take these notes and learn what ya see." Killer Bee instructed, passing his notebook to Fu for the others to see. "Remember, teamwork is key!"

-**End Flashback**-

* * *

"So we're really gonna go with the Sunaarashi Formation?" Fu questioned seriously, struggling to keep Naruto steady on his feet. "This won't be a training scenario like Bee-Sensei had us doing. It'll be the first time we use it in actual combat."

"It's the best formation we've practiced with." Gaara answered. "And besides, Naruto is serious about this teamwork thing."

The mint-haired Kunoichi feebly glanced at the knuckleheaded ninja hanging by her shoulder, wondering if he was a genius or a gutsy moron. Fu sighed. Naruto Uzumaki was the most surprising ninja she had ever met. Recalling the formation plan from her memory, Fu passed off the blond Genin to Gaara before making a charge for the shark-toothed traitor.

Suigetsu had finish reshaping his missing limbs just in time to duck under the Kunoichi's sweeping kick. This girl must be a glutton for punishment in Suigetsu's opinion. The white-haired warrior pulled a kunai from his side pouch, spinning the blade for show, and swiped the weapon upwards. The mint-haired Genin pulled back just far enough to dodge the tip of the knife, dropping on her back, and flipping back to her feet again with a flying punch in waiting. Suigetsu tilted his head to the side, barely letting the knuckle graze against his moist cheek. The mint-haired Kunoichi had left herself wide open for attack, which Suigetsu would have taken advantage of if it wasn't for two things.

First, he remembers what happened when he used a kunai last time and it shattered to pieces against her unnatural skin. And secondly, he briefly noticed the thick streams of sand closing in. Suigetsu didn't have time to think before the sand waves came crashing on either side of him. The shark-tooth teen instinctively jumped into the air just moments before the columns of grain collided with one another – the sand had purposely avoided Fu. While skyward above the Genin, Suigetsu noticed that the entire forest floor had been covered in sand, partially changing the environment. It took a moment for him to realize that the flat chested bitch was only distracting for so they could bury him in the sand field.

"Hah! He nearly had me there." Suigetsu thought amusingly. "But it'll take a lot more to catch Suigetsu Hozuki."

"Don't get too comfortable." Gaara warned, clapping his hands together.

Upon command, the sand field created close to fifty large clumps of grain, shooting them to the sky with impressive speed. Suigetsu scowled, but nonetheless stabbed his kunai through the sand bullets since he couldn't dodge in midair. But just as he knife started digging into the grain, he met with some resistance that sounded like clashing metal. You could only imagine his surprise when the orange-clad Genin from Konoha emerged from sand sphere, grinding his own kunai against Suigetsu's. The shark-tooth warrior recovered from the initial surprise and swiped a kick across the kid's face, only to have him disappear in a puff of white smoke.

"Shadow clone!" Suigetsu exclaimed. "Wait, then what about…?"

"Here I come!"

The white-haired traitor quickly snapped his head in attention. The remainder of the sand bullets washed away, revealing an army of annoying ninja in orange jumpsuit – the ultimate nightmare. Suigetsu understood now. While he was distracted by the flat chested bitch, the Konoha brat had made his shadow clones and buried them inside the Suna Genin's sand, waiting for this moment. Any normal ninja would have been thrown off-guard and left wide open for attack. But Suigetsu wasn't any ordinary ninja.

The shark-toothed teen stepped on the closest clone as a foothold, equally to maintain his balance and launch himself at the orange army. Suigetsu demonstrated that he wasn't an opponent to be underestimated. The white-haired deceiver used the clone to rebound from place to place, stabbing his kunai in vital points before moving on to the next. Two of the shadow clones attempted a simultaneous attack, but the heir of the Hozuki clan grappled their arms in mid-swing, pulling them to stab each other in the throat. There was only one point in the airborne struggle that Naruto had a chance to strike. While Suigetsu had beheaded another clone, one Naruto clone had glided in from behind and stabbed his kunai blade through the enemy's back. Unfortunately, that was in a literal sense.

Suigetsu had used his family's Hydration technique to temporally liquefy himself and allow the knife to fly through with a splash of water. The white-haired warrior brought his foot down on the clone's head, dispelling him in a cloud of white smoke.

"We're running out of ammo." Fu commented, referring to the piles of white cloud forming in the sky.

"Yes, but that's why the Sunaarashi Formation was made with a backup plan." Gaara stated calmly, holding his open palm out to his female teammate. "Get into position."

"This is so degrading." Fu whined.

The Taki Kunoichi complied nonetheless, lowering herself to the ground and pulling her arms and legs closer to her body. She additionally activated her Exoskeleton to cover every portion of her body, giving the impression of the green-haired cannonball. Gaara raised his hand with the sand mimicking his movements and reshaping itself it what appeared to be a three-fingered claw. Fu visibly tensed as the claw grasped her bundled form and started reeling back before pitching her towards the sky in Suigetsu's direction.

The teen in question grappled the last clone by the shoulders, using his kunai knife to slit his throat. Due to the white puff left behind from the orange-clad doppelganger, Suigetsu was blinded for a short moment while he tried to fan the smoke away. Thought later on, he wished he didn't.

Once the cloud had faded, the Fu-cannonball was only feet from colliding with the water-user and he had no chance of dodging. The Hozuki boy had no choice but to use his full-body Hydration technique, transforming himself into a complete liquid state. Fu splashed through the teen's body, splattering portions of him across the ground in a miniature rain storm. The mint-haired girl flipped and landed on her feet in a spectacular manner at the same time Gaara withdrew his sand back to the gourd. The forest floor was littered with puddles of various sizes, each one holding a small portion of Suigetsu.

"Hell yeah!" Fu cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "Now that's teamwork!"

"Hehe! What did you expect?" Naruto smirked arrogantly. "When you have an awesome ninja like me on your team, there's no way we can lose."

"None of your clones could land a hit." Gaara commented, earning a scowl from the blond. "Fu and I had to do all the work."

"Grr…Gaara!" Naruto screamed angrily. He made a lunge for the Suna redhead, only to smack face-first into the Sand Shield. "I really hate you."

"Well, it was nice while it lasted." Fu sighed tiredly.

"You guys…aren't bad." Team B turned in the direction of the voice, finding that Suigetsu was already halfway finished reforming himself. "I'll admit you brats aren't half bad, but I'm not out just yet. I've got plenty planned for you guys. First, I'm cut off your arms, then I'm gonna rip out your teeth as painfully as possible, and then I'll rip off your skin piece-by-piece. And if you're still alive after that, I might show some mercy and gouge your eyes out before cutting your heads wide open."

"First: eww." Fu commented disgustedly. "Second: you've got some serious mental issue."

"Stand back, Fu-chan." Naruto said, suddenly sliding in front of the girl. "A hero always keeps the damsel safe."

"Wanna try calling me that again?" Fu sneered, rapping him over the head.

"Sorry!"

"Ya know, for a ninja, you're not very bright." Suigetsu mocked; he was nearly restored.

"You won't be laughing for long." Naruto proclaim confidently, making a crossed sign with his fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A moment later, ten Narutos were standing side-by-side. "I'm gonna kick your butt with my ultimate technique!"

"Ultimate technique?" Gaara repeated curiously.

'Naruto has a better technique than the Shadow Clone Jutsu?' Fu thought in awe. 'He's actually being serious for a change. He came up with a cleaver plan to get me free and now he's about to show his best move.' Her copper cheek tinted slightly red – they've been doing that a lot recently. 'Maybe I've been wrong about him all along.'

With a righteous battle cry, the swarm of orange-clad soldiers marched ahead, surprisingly not drawing any weapons. Suigetsu cursed under his breath. He was still repairing himself from the earlier assault and barely had enough strength to keep standing. The best he could do was guard. But as the orange clones clustered around him on every side, he soon discovered that protecting himself would be pointless. But what happened next really took the cake.

"Transform!" The clones cried simultaneously.

All ten Naruto-s exploded into clouds of white smoke, leaving everyone wondering what was to come. The results were very much …unexpected. Suigetsu's jaw dropped to the floor as he found himself surrounded by ten drop-dead beautiful women with blond pigtails and not an article of clothing covering them.

The shark-toothed warrior was perpetually frozen in place as the nude woman pressed themselves against his body, softly cooing and saying his name in a sexy tone. Suigetsu may be a coldblooded killer, but he was still a hormonal teenager. Team B's reactions were almost expected: Gaara's expression didn't change in the slight, but Fu looked ready to breathe fire any moment. The situation was too much for Suigetsu and he literally melted to a puddle at the girls' feet. The enemy neutralized, Naruto dispelled the clones and the transformation, appearing in his normal state with a smug grin.

"Hehe! Another falls to the Harem Jutsu!" Naruto laughed.

"Naruto!" Fu screamed. Before the blond knew what happened, the mint-haired girl dashed over and smashed her fist into the boy's face, creating another unnecessary crater. "What the hell? That was your ultimate technique? I was right about you all along! You're nothing more than a disgusting little pervert!"

"Fu-chan…" Naruto cried silently.

"Leave it to Naruto to come up with such a ridiculous technique. I don't even know why I'm surprised." Gaara sighed. "I knew I should have stayed with Temari and Kankuro."

Back with Killer Bee and Zabuza, the rapping Jonin had finished the last of the water clones and clashed blades with the Demon of the Mist. Zabuza Momochi was at a loss. He had used water clones and various other water-based jutsu, but the Hachibi Jinchuuriki had outdone him every time. In terms of swordsmanship, they were both on equal ground. But with Kubikiribocho snapped in half, he may as well be throwing rocks at the Jonin. Killer Bee took to the offensive as he shoved both swords to the side and kicked the masked swordsman in the chest, throwing him back. Zabuza flipped around and landed on his knees with the broken half of Kubikiribocho stabbed into the ground. The Demon of the Mist was panting heavily, but was angered by the fact that his opponent didn't look close to exhausted. And from the brief lapses of shouting stretching across the field, Zabuza surmised that Suigetsu had been defeated.

"I knew that kid was worthless." Zabuza said gruffly. "But to be beaten by a bunch of children. What an embarrassment."

"Those kids aren't all what they seem." Killer Bee rapped, reflecting the sun against his single sword. "Ya never know what they can do as a team. Those little brat are gonna fly, but you, my friend, are gonna die."

"You're wrong, fool." Zabuza scowled. "They don't call me the Demon of…"

Quick as a flash, the former Ninja Swordsman ended his speech and dropped forward with his eyes wide in shock. That wasn't something Killer Bee had been expecting. The Kumo Jonin dropped closer to inspect the fallen Shinobi, joined shortly by his students that had been watching from a distance. If he didn't see it for himself, Killer Bee never would have believed it. The feared Demon of the Mist was taken down by two senbon needles lodged in his neck. And for the first time that day, Killer Bee and Gaara detected another presence in the forest – one that had been masked from them the entire time. Standing clear as day in the highest branch of the tree overlooking them was the masked woman from Kirigakure, holding a set of senbon between her fingers.

"You're right." The woman sounded amused. "He did die."

'_Who is she?_' Gaara thought curiously. '_She concealed her presence so well that even the sand couldn't trace her. This woman is no ordinary Kunoichi._'

"Hmm." Killer Bee hummed, sounding almost serious. He touched his fingers around Zabuza's neckline, trying to find even the slightest pulse. "He really is dead."

"I thank you for your assistance." The woman suddenly appeared in the middle of the group, causing everyone – even Gaara – to jump in surprise. "I have been looking for a chance to kill Zabuza for quite some time. If you had not distracted him at the appropriate time, I would have failed."

"That mask…" Killer Bee stated with his arms crossed. "You're a Hunter-nin from Kirigakure. I remember the Mizukage being one before he was elected."

"You seem to be well informed." The woman said politely.

"Eh, what's a Hunter-nin?" Naruto asked clueless.

"Seriously, why did you even go to the academy?" Fu scolded. "Hunter-nin are highly trained assassins who are assigned to kill Missing-nin like Zabuza that have betrayed their village. They do it to conceal any secret in their village."

'_Judging by her height and voice…_' The Hachibi said within Killer Bee's mind. '_She must not be that different from Naruto or the others. And yet, she's a Hunter-nin at that age. Plus, judging from those senbon's angle that looked like a 300 meter shot. I can't say for sure…but I think she has what it takes to kill you._'

'_Then I should watch my step._' Killer Bee replied gravely. '_There are kids younger than Naruto, but just as powerful as me. Gaara and this girl are living proof of that._'

"Your battle ends here for now." The woman said, pulling the Jonin from his thoughts. Though she was small, the girl had lifted Zabuza's corpse onto her shoulders and carried the broken half of Kubikiribocho in her free hand. "I must go dispose this corpse. It's a body filled with secrets. I will be sure to inform the Mizukage of what you have done for Kirigakure."

And with that, the mysterious Hunter-nin vanished with the approaching mist, leaving the Jonin and his students in uncomfortable silence. They were distracted by the Hunter-nin's sudden appearance that they failed to notice the series of puddles escaping into the forest. Suigetsu swore he'd get them back someday. After a minute of staring into nothingness, Killer Bee finally turned back to his students with a victorious thumbs-up.

"Looks like the good guys finally won." Killer Bee rapped proudly. "All I can say is a job well done." But his praising rhythm was only met with accusing stares; Fu didn't even try to tell off her teacher for his terrible rap. "Hey, what's wrong with you? Ya'll lookin' a little blue."

"Well…" Fu spoke hesitantly, glancing sideways to her teammates. "We heard Zabuza call you a Jinchuuriki. We just want to know…is it true?"

"It seems a little hard to tell the youth." Killer Bee sighed, scratching the back of his head. "But I guess it's ya knew the truth."

"What truth?" Naruto asked worried.

"There's a reason I'm workin' with you three." Killer Bee said, preparing himself for the worst. "It's because we're all Jinchuuriki."

* * *

**Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles**

"What the hell is a Jinchuriki?"

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

"Too bad, I was hoping to add Kubikiribocho to my collection."

"If you don't want to die, you should go home."

**Next time: Demon's Revival! The Clocks Ticking!**

"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

* * *

**Closing Author's Note**

**Hey guy's I'm not dead! I just finished my college work for the year and I finished my part time job so you expect a lot more chapters.**


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